How to Train Your Dragon the Hard Way
by Seeker of Inspiration
Summary: If it was training a dragon, learning to sword fight, or being a Viking all together, his way is the difficult way and he knew it. Hiccup's journey into becoming a Viking hero the hard way. Wild dragons, villains, lost treasures, betrayals, and much more await this scrawny Viking boy. The story is a heavy mix of the books and the movie/tv series. Spoiler warning. Arc 1 completed.
1. Arc 1 Loud and Crazy Viking Rituals

**How to Train Your Dragon the Hard Way**

It was a very cold night in Berk. The Vikings that didn't dare leave the great hall because of the hail storm outside all huddled close to the fire that went out every few minutes.

"Stupid dragons, they can't even maintain a fire lit!" one of the Vikings cried out before he using a pair of thongs to pick a fire-worm from a cage. He brought the small dragon over the firewood and then squished the little dragon. So great was his anger at been so cold that he didn't measure his strength, and the little dragon was killed even before it could try to spit one little bit of fire. The Viking cursed before throwing the little body into the wood and reaching for another one. However, the fire-words had just watched the youngest of their group die cruelly.

"**Curse you human!"** they shouted in tiny dragon voices, **"Revenge!"**

This was said in Dragonese, so the Vikings did not understand a word of it. So, it was a rather big and unpleasant surprise when the dragons jumped out of their cage and attacked the Viking.

"Get them off me!" he shouted as they burned through his clothes and beard, "get them off!"

"**REVENGE FOR ALL DRAGONS!" **they shouted before taking on the other Vikings who at first had just been laughing at the misfortune of their companion.

"The dragons have gone crazy!"

"Help!"

"**REVENGE!"**

Soon the great hall was enveloped in flames, and in their fear and panic the Vikings left the great hall without even looking back once. If they had, they would have seen one of the fire-worms hover over an old book. The book had been standing on a beautiful wooden pedestal. The dragon thought it was beautiful too, and it also burned beautifully along with it the Dragon Manual.

The following morning, on the remains of the great hall the ashes of said manual and pedestal were found.

The chief at that time looked at his son worriedly before they called the whole tribe to the spot.

"Our Dragon Manual is gone, but the knowledge is not! All of us read that manual at one point in our lives, therefore we should be able to rewrite it!" his son thought it sounded very inspiring, but when they saw the faces of the rest of the tribe he thought maybe he was mistaken.

The Hairy Hooligans looked at each other with suspicion. The Hofferson didn't fell like sharing what they knew of the Nadders, as they were the best Nadder riders. The Thorston felt the same about what they knew of the Zipplebacks, and so on and on.

At the end, each family decided not to share much with the chief. This resulted on a very light version of the manual, but the chief knew he couldn't force them to say more because he also was keeping information on the Monstrous Nightmare. Each family silently agreed that they would guard their secrets and only pass them on to their family members. And so, the wonder that was the Dragon Manual was lost.

A long time after that a young boy came to live on the same tribe; he was the son of the chief and a rather odd one. You see, this young boy was very curious about dragons, and not just the ones his family trained. He was curious about all dragons and made his goal, without knowing, to know everything he could about dragons. This makes him the hero of our story.

A message from our brave hero:

_**Though I am very old now, I can still remember how hard I had it as a young Vikings. I was not strong, or big, or even scary. I was a walking fishbone, and many still consider me to be. Though I learned over time that intelligence, bravery, and honor were a lot more important my younger self was lost in a tribe of burly, rude, and hard headed Vikings. I don't envy, for exception that he was very young. One of the hardest and first challenges that I tackled over the years was training my first dragon. That rude, selfish and self-centered reptile made me pass many bad situations and turned bad situations into even worse situations. I miss him. It feels so quiet without him.**_

_**Anyways, soon you will hear my story on how I trained that dragon without any of the un-pleasantries cut out. You better have a strong stomach as the waves are restless, there are wild un-trainable dragons nearby, and there is danger lurking everyone you go. **_

Chapter 1: Loud Vikings and Their Crazy Rituals

It was a very cold day a long time ago; this is how Hiccup always remembered it. It was probably of the coldest in his memory for he had been very young and standing on white glittering snow up to his knees. Around him teens of his tribe stood rigidly, about seven boys and three girls, all trying not to shake on their boots under the horrible weather. The cold was unbearable, but none of them would admit it. Cold was something to be expected if you wanted to a Viking, and whining about it wouldn't get you there any sooner. Hiccup took a moment to compare his thin and small frame to them. All of them were older than him, and the girl that was closes to his age was about his size but she was the fiercer than any of them.

"Now listen here you bunch of seaweed filled skulls!" shouted Gobber the Belch, who was at charge of training new Vikings into the tribe, he swung his hooked hand threatening "today you miserable slobs will give the first step into becoming full members of the Hooligan tribe. Today! You catch your first dragon!"

The kids started shouting in excitement at the thought of finally having their own dragons. No more borrowing from their big sister or brother, or even getting scolded by their parents when they tried to take their dragons for a small ride; it was a dream come true!

"And I will lead you all" said Snotlout puffing his chest trying to look bigger, which wasn't necessary as everyone already knew he was the toughest of all the teens. Though Hiccup and most of the tribe couldn't stand Snotlout, the boy was still the strongest, meanest, and more skilled of the boys. Well, for exception of that fierce girl, who was fiercer than even some fully fledged Vikings.

Gobber had walked towards Snotlout and leaned down so he could make sure the kid was looking into his wild eyes "Is that so? I don't remember assigning you Snotbrat"

"W…well, who else but me!" the dark haired boy almost lost his wits for a moment but then replied meanly, "Hiccup?" he jeered and glared so the rest would laugh. Most did, for exception of the fierce Hofferson girl and his geeky friend Fishlegs.

"As a matter of fact, yes!" shouted Gobber to Snotlout who did his best not to look scared. Everyone knew Gobber was one mean Viking, second best only next to their chief. Thorn only knew how mean he would be if he wasn't missing an arm and a leg, thought Gobber made his replacement work quite well.

"Me? Are… are you…" small Hiccup asked wanting to go back to the background. He hated how just about everyone was looking at him. They knew he was not as strong, big, or as scary as them, so why should they follow this fishbone?

"Ye… yes Hiccup!" shouted Gobber in exasperation, "unless you have a twin that we were not aware of you are the heir of the tribe and so you have to start somewhere, right?"

"Right," though he didn't sound excited about the prospect of leading them at all.

"Yeah Hiccup," Snotlout sneered with hatred, and his glare promised a lot of pain for when the adults weren't around.

Oh, how he wished his father had postponed this for another year. Maybe by then he would have grown a little more, or filled out like his father always claimed at great hall. But no, he had to be placed on the same year as his cousin Snotlout; the biggest bully in the island and probably the whole Viking archipelago. Not to mention Astrid; the fiercest, most talented of them all and the girl he admired. Then there were the other block heads of the tribe, for exception of Fishlegs of course, who was more awkward than him.

"Silence!" shouted Gobber though no one was speaking anymore, "Hiccup will lead you and that is the end of it!"

"Useless," muttered Snotlout under his breath, just loud enough for Hiccup to hear.

Gobber pushed a torch into Hiccups cold hands before continuing, still shouting.

"You will go to the Wild Dragon Cliff!" he pointed with his hooked hand at the high cliff seated not far from them. It was the tallest of all, chosen by the dragons for a home and hibernation place during those cold winter months. When the winter was gone, the cliff was filled with hundreds upon hundreds of dragons. But at that time it was deadly quiet, which made it just as scary to approach as if they weren't in winter. It's entrance, though Hiccup wondering if it was mere chance, was shaped like a skull, "you will take the first tunnel to the **LEFT**! Nowhere else! And march on until you reach a cave where the younger dragons sleep!"

Not for long, though Hiccup, with all the shouting that Gobber was doing they were bound to wake up any moment.

"There you will find around… three thousand young dragons to pick from!" most teens cheered excitedly though most would just go with the dragons their families specialized at.

They were so dead, even before they made it to the cave. Hiccup wondered what a cranky dragon looked like when it was awaken from deep slumber. Well, at least he would learn something new. From among all the teens, without a doubt, but maybe for exception of Fishlegs, no one knew more about dragons than him. He was naturally curious, something that got him into constant trouble. At least no one could accuse him of been close minded.

"You will enter QUIETLY!" so very dead, "And you will place ONE sleeping dragon inside one of these baskets" he said pointing at them, "no fooling around YOU HEAR!" he glared at all of them to make sure they were listening, "AND in the case one of you have trouble getting a dragon, which you would have to be very stupid not to do, take this advice as encouragement. If you return without a dragon you will be BANISHED! The Hairy Hooligans had no need for cowards!"

It was said that Rome was beautiful in that time of year. Hiccup wondered if he could adopt a new last name too.

"Now get your baskets and get going!" he shouted before looking for a nice boulder to sit on as the teens rushed to get their baskets and strap them to their backs.

"We are so dead," said Hiccup as he started to walk alongside Fishlegs.

"Hey, look in the bright side … oh, that's right, there isn't one" sighed Fishlegs shaking his head full of straw-like wild blonde hair.

"Would you two shut up," said Snotlout before taking the torch away from Hiccup and pushing him to the snow, "now, I will lead us, and whoever says anything will get a visit from my fist!" he shook said fist to emphasize his point.

"Whatever Snotlout" said Astrid Hofferson said carelessly as she uncoiled the rope Gobber had entrusted her knowing well she would take charge, and started instructing all of them into tying themselves to it before they started climbing.

"I am at charge Hofferson! I am the next heir!" he sneered very close to her face with his dark piggy like eyes, but Astrid stared at him unimpressed.

"Yo…you are speaking treason," said Fishlegs, "Hiccup is the…" but a single glare from the mean boy made him stop speaking.

"Shut up you nipply Big-Baby, no one is listening to you," Snotlout sneered. No one there, even Astrid, would speak of what they heard. Snotlout was known also for getting what he wanted, no matter the obstacle.

"You can lead Hofferson, but only because you will be my wife one day" Snotlout said with a disgusting smirk, "you have to prove yourself worthy of being a chief's wife"

"In your dreams" she spat disgusted before trusting the end of the rope to Hiccup to tie himself. Without meaning to, she brushed her fingers lightly with his. Well, at least everything wasn't so bad.

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	2. Don't Wake Up the Sleeping Dragons

**How to Train Your Dragon the Hard Way**

Chapter 2

It was well known through the island of Berk that Astrid Hofferson was a very talented young Viking in training. Many said she was the next Valhallarama; she had been the wife of the chief and one of the greatest Viking explorers known. She was proud of this, and always made sure to live up to those expectations. She would be a great shield maiden, and show that she was worthy; worthy of what? Only a few trusted by the Hofferson knew. It had something to do with Astrid's mother, of who she knew very little but was not allowed to say.

Hiccup had heard a word or two of this when Asmund the Astute Hofferson visited his father late at night to confide. Though his father could be thick headed, he was someone always trusted by his tribe. They always mentioned someone they called Big B. But even though she was surrounded by so many secrets, everyone still trusted Astrid Hofferson. At top of that she was beautiful, not in the manly way that some shield maidens were when flexing their muscles, showing off their thick calves, or telling tales of their bloody battles. No, Astrid was petit, agile, smart, strong, and the list went on and on. Yes, our hero had a very big crush on Astrid Hofferson, though he denied this even to himself. He was still young and in the phase where he thought most girl yucky. But not Astrid Hofferson, how could he?

Hiccup was more than happy to let her take charge. Though Snotlout was what some called a natural leader (a first class bully), Astrid had everyone's trust. They knew they could rely on her. So, as they climbed the cliff wall, with the sea roaring below them, Hiccup felt confident Astrid would take them to the top.

"If Snotlout becomes chief, I will sail to the end of the world" said Fishlegs just ahead of him, "you can't let him become chief Hiccup"

"There is still a long time for that Fishlegs," though Hiccup preferred not to think about it at all.

There wasn't much he could do against someone like Snotlout. He was big, strong, and never doubted himself when it came to hurting others, especially him. Though he wasn't strong or big, Hiccup was smart. He could think of a hundred ways to hurt Snotlout in a minute without getting his hands dirty, but he would never dare to go through any of them. Hiccup knew that some Vikings prided themselves on their brutality, but he never saw how. Actually, the idea of hurting others without a good reason always made him a little squeamish. Maybe it was because he had been the victim for so long. Others would whisper behind his family's back that if was because of his mother, though a great warrior was also known for her kind and polite mannerism.

A sudden jerk made him look up at the Thorston twins.

"It's my rock!" shouted Tuffnut pulling his sister's hair making her yowl.

"It's mine!" shouted Ruffnut back before punching him in the gut.

"Get a move on!" shouted Astrid from the top of the line before the twins kept going. Of all the Vikings in Berk she had to get stuck with these nitwits. Though she got a long with Ruffnut just fine, she detested that the female twin let her brother get the better of her sometimes. Then, thought she wondered he was as smart as he appeared, she heard Fishlegs.

"I can't believe we are going into a cave full of sleeping dragons with these maniacs" Fishlegs said though it didn't feel like an insult to most of the teens. She wondered if he were aware the waves were not enough to drown the sound of his complaining.

"Let's hope we get there first" Hiccup said gripping to the rocks as best as he could, the cold and snow had made them terribly slippery. A few times some of the teens slipped just to be caught by the one below them. All the while Astrid led through the best path. By the time they reached the main entrance of the cave, all teens were shaking with excitement. Finally, they would get a dragon of their own.

"I am so going to get me a Monstrous Nightmare," said Snotlout as he untied himself from the other teens. His dark eyes were glowing with greed at the thought of getting the largest of the Monstrous Nightmares.

"You don't have a single idea on how to train a Nightmare Snotlout," said Tuffnut with a smirk, "the only one here that knows how is Hiccup"

"Hiccup," Snotlout had almost forgotten his cousin. Thanks Tuff, though Hiccup as his cousin marched to face him, "if you get in my way whatsoever…" so what if the fishbone was really smart, he had no place in Berk or anywhere else in the Viking archipelago. His lily-pants of a cousin deserved to be Rome in the gladiator arena getting his head chopped off, or someplace just as awful. Yeah, he liked that idea.

"Move aside Snotlout," said Astrid before taking the torch from him and passing it to Hiccup, "orders are orders," she said handing the torch to Hiccup, though she couldn't hide completely her discomfort. No one could read a map, solve puzzles, understand dragons better than Hiccup, but he was still a lousy Viking. He had almost no muscles to speak of, he was a pipsqueak, and he was also very clumsy especially when he tried to lift weapons. She hoped the better side of him would show this time, or they would become an early breakfast for the hibernating dragons.

"Right, you go first Hiccup. If there are any dragons awake… well, just let us know" Snotlout laughed darkly.

Hiccup couldn't help to roll his eyes. He had overcome all of Snotlout's scare tactics (for exception of the violent ones) a long time ago. He went in first and took the left tunnel just Gobber had told them. It was long and dark with an uneven ceiling. Sometimes they had to crawl or squish through places to get through, until finally they saw a light ahead. Fire-worms covered the walls illuminating the hundreds of sleeping dragons.

Hiccup couldn't remember ever seeing something so beautiful in his life. Part of him had well in mind return here at some point just to sketch it out, though he knew it would take him a whole life time. There were so many types of dragons, many which he only had heard of or only been able to see from far away. Bright and dark colored, with simple and complex patterns on their scales. There were Common Gardens, Gronckles, Nadders, Zipplebacks, Timberjacks, a Scauldron or two, Typhoomerangs, Changewings, Monstrous Nightmares and so many more. It was mesmerizing, even more than seeing into the dangerous and hypnotizing eyes of a dragon. Even the cave was beautiful with fire-worms running here and there keeping the place warm and feeding off the parasites that sometimes crawled on the sleeping dragons. He also spotted quite a few jewels on the walls, which were not there by mere chance, dragons loved shiny things and he guessed they had brought quite a few to decorate their den.

All of the teens stood still for a moment mesmerized. Even the most block-headed ones couldn't help to be stopped in their tracks.

"Let's get moving…" whispered Astrid harsh and breathlessly before everyone started to hurry.

Just as Hiccup had expected, everyone went for the dragons their families specialized at. Fishlegs shuffled like a mouse toward a pile of Gronckles. Everyone considered the Gronckles the ugliest of dragons, but Fishlegs' family considered them to be beautiful for some reason, many times comparing them to humming birds because of their fast moving wings. He watched for a moment as he evaluated every Gronckle from the pile to get the best one, though to Hiccup they all looked the same.

The Throston twins went for a pile of Zipplebacks, which was also expected. Most of the Thorston family was composed of twins and the Zippleback was their trade mark dragon. They were known to be the best when riding this two headed dragon, though Hiccup imagined there could always be an exception when it came to Ruffnut and Tuffnut. They glared at each other the whole time as they tried to pick one. They would be bickering but even they knew it was something stupid to do with three thousand sleeping dragons around them.

Snotlout, of course went for the biggest Monstrous Nightmare. It barely fit in his basket but the large boy didn't care. It was bigger than anything Hiccup would ever get. As the son of the chief Hiccup had all right to that dragon, but he didn't care much for it. In Hiccup's opinion, the larger the dragon, the slower it was and probably it wouldn't be too smart do to always relying on brute force. He actually started towards a pile of Deadly Nadders which were middle sized and were known to be smarter than other dragons. At top of that they had those spiky tales which they could always rely on in case they ran out of fire shots. That was a smart choice and he knew some basics on them so he wouldn't have that much trouble training them.

"You should be getting a Monstrous Nightmare, remember?" whispered Astrid who was looking for a Deadly Nadder as it was her family's dragon.

Hiccup didn't know what to say. He knew that, and he was sure his father would be very cross when he saw he hadn't brought a Monstrous Nightmare.

"If Snotlout ends up the chief…" she said in an even lower whisper, "I will take the same ship as Fishlegs towards the edge of the world" she offered him a nervous smile.

"He won't," he found himself saying without thinking, "I want a Nadder because they are faster and smarter. Brute force isn't everything" then he turned a bright shade of red. He had never spoken so much to her.

Astrid's smile relaxed a little. She knew it was a long shot, but if Hiccup could take reins of the tribe she knew she would be safe of becoming Snotlout's bride. She knew her family would never decline a proposal from the next chief.

"That one," said Hiccup pointing to a blue Nadder near the bottom of the pile "it's a female but it is a good size and her scales looks healthy too"

Astrid realized he was right. She had been looking for a female as when it grew it would fit her best for riding. At top of that she was a very healthy looking one too.

"Don't you want to take her?" she asked Hiccup surprised he hadn't just taken her.

He shook his head, "that one" she looked towards where he was looking. Almost to the top of the pile was a purple-red Nadder. A boy, which had a rather long tale compared to other Nadders which meant more spike projectiles. It had a lean body which meant it would be fast. It was perfect for exception of its gender. Astrid knew that if she took it, when the Nadder grew it would be too big for her to handle. She guessed Hiccup believed what his father said about growing eventually.

He helped her pull her Nadder first out of the pile without disturbing the others. Both were thankful that dragons always hibernated during the cold winter. They would take the dragons home, place them somewhere warm until spring arrived and they woke up. Then the dragon training would start.

When they were sure the other Nadders wouldn't wake from removing Astrid Nadder, then Hiccup started to climb the pile of sleeping dragons towards the one he wanted. Just as he was reaching for it a loud thumping noise echoed through the cave. Hiccup and everyone turned to look at a pile of Gronckles that had collapsed after an exceptionally big one had been removed by Fishlegs. He looked paler and all of them became deadly quiet as some dragons stirred, but thankfully none actually opened their eyes. Everyone let silent sighs, once again thankful for hibernation.

Then Hiccup turned to get the Nadder he wanted, just to meet bright yellow eyes glaring at him. The Nadder was awake and not too happy.

SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH!

They were so dead…

SCREEEEEEEEEEECH!

That could have been the end of our small hero, but thankfully Astrid had also noticed the awakened dragon just in time to pull him from the back of his trousers just as the young Nadder shot its spikes. It missed him barely before they landed on the cave floor and started running as all the dragons started to awaken from the warning screech.

Since young dragons were not the most organized, it gave them a chance to escape to the tunnel that had brought them there. Many of the dragons got stuck at the mouth of the tunnel trying to get ahead of one another. Still, it was terrifying to hear the cacophony of screeches and growls from the young dragons. All the while Hiccup couldn't help to wonder what he would do. He was the only one not to get a dragon. He knew if he didn't return with at least one miserable dragon he would be banished. Even a Garden Dragon would do! He could say he wanted a hunting dragon first and then a riding dragon. Which was unusual, but so was he.

"Don't even think about it!" shouted Astrid to him as she grabbed his arm and pulled him along.

"I…" how did she know?

"You are not going back!" she yanked him harder to make her point clear.

He followed with the rest until they saw the light from the exit. In her relief Astrid had let him go, and without thinking he pulled to the right; to where Gobber had said not to go. He was captured by absolute silence. There was no sound whatsoever in this tunnel. It was not natural. It made the hairs on the back of his neck stand. His instincts, though not usually used, were shouting at him to get out right away. But something else was calling him forwards and he walked a few steps with his hands stretched forwards in the dark, until he came in contact with a scale covered form. He felt wings and claws. Yes, it was definitely a dragon. He took a deep breath before pulling the creature gently into his basket. Then all sound returned and he felt wrapped in the panic that his peers were feeling. The dragons had caught up to them.

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	3. Why Don't You Jump Off A Cliff?

**How to Train Your Dragon the Hard Way**

Chapter 3

It had been a wonderful dream where he was still young and battling hordes of Outcasts, Bog Burglars, Lava Louts, and so many others. The absolute best part of the dream was that there were absolutely no children, or teenagers around. It was such wonderful dream, just like he imagined Valhalla to be. The dream felt like an eternity, a whole life time in it but it had only been an hour at the most.

Gobber the Belch woke up at the sound of multiple screeching young dragons. He sprang into action thinking it was part of his dream, and was looking for some ferocious dragons to test his strength against. His peg leg sank into the snow covered beach, and he realized he was awake. After getting his bearing and remembering what he was doing he realized where the dragon screeches were coming from. He should have known this was going to happen. This generation of young Vikings left a lot to want from, all for exception of Astrid, of course. That girl was just as good as her father, or so he and the other Hooligans liked to tell themselves.

He had ran as fast as possible with his peg leg sinking into the snow before reaching the cliff wall and started to climb. His hook gave him an advantage here as it encrusted into the hard rock with ease. He wasn't called a master blacksmith for nothing. When he got to the top the kids had their backs to the cliff as the first of the dragons started to come out of the cave. He knew more would be upon them in only a few seconds.

The teenagers sighed in relief when they saw their teacher arrive.

"JUMP!" he shouted at top of his lungs. It was the only way, but this didn't stop more than one of them from looking at him as if he had lost his mind. To emphasize his point, he took Tuffnut and threw him off the cliff and into the sea.

"I regret nothiiiiiiiiing!" he shouted before being swallowed by the sea waters.

A few of the teens, those that didn't think much for themselves, followed shortly after on their own will. The ones that had thought better of it changed their minds as more dragons came out. Gobber started to pummel the dragons with his fist and hook as soon as they tried to attack the remaining kids. That was all the encouragement they needed to finally make up their minds about jumping off the highest cliff in Berk. Once he was on his own Gobber realized he hadn't seen one scrawny boy in the whole mess. He cursed under his breath, very Viking like, before looking frantically for Hiccup, but by then there were just too many dragons even for him to fight them off. Still, he couldn't leave the son of chief behind. If he did he might as well start packing his bags.

Then, to his relief he saw the brat sneak out of the cave pale as the snow trying to go unnoticed by the dragons and to him…. Which of course, it was impossible.

"JUST RUN!" Shouted Gobber wondering if the boy would hear him at all with the now hundreds of young dragons screeching and growling as he fought them off.

Hiccup was never the kind to make rash decisions. Some actually said he thought too much. In this occasion, he took their advice, didn't think twice about it and ran as fast as he could towards Gobber. He felt dragons reach for him, their claws gracing his clothes and tearing them in some places, but somehow he made it to the large Viking. Gobber picked him up like a sack of fish and threw him off the cliff with all his strength. For a moment, Hiccup wondered if that was how it felt to fly on the back of a dragon, but the idea soon left him as he crashed into the cold waters.

The force of the fall kicked all air out of his lungs, and his limbs felt numb disconnected from him as he tried to fight off unconsciousness. He felt the shockwave of when Gobber landed in the waters and soon after his meaty hand took hold of him and pulled him to the surface.

"Fish… Fishlegs can't swim!" was the first thing that escaped his mouth after taking a breath of air. His friend was nowhere in sight. With a growl Gobber went back under the waters and only a few seconds later emerged with Fishlegs on his hook.

"You are a maniac!" cried the large teen before Gobber started swimming alongside them to the beach shore. Hopefully the dragons would change their minds about chasing them when they felt the cold winter they slept against.

Shivering and wet the teens collapsed on the beach, but not before making sure they still had their baskets with them. Thankfully most dragons had gills and they didn't have to worry about drowning them.

"Incomiiiiing!" shouted Gobber before grabbing a piece of lumber that had been half buried in the sand and swinging it against a group of young stubborn Monstrous Nightmares which protected themselves against the cold by covering themselves in flames. It only took hitting two of them to make them understand that they were not fighting against a group of younglings but a full grown Viking to make them retreat "LET'S GET MOVING BEFORE THEY CHANGE THEIR MINDS!" and no one doubted his words, for dragons were known to be able to keep resentments for a very, very long time.

They all climbed in utter silence into the frozen woods and started their way towards their village through bogs and high snow. Though they had lived in Berk all their lives, but it didn't make it easier to move through the ice and slippery stones; especially when they were drenched in seawater. Their clothes were frozen stiff making the trek miserable for everyone. By the afternoon, now much closer to home, Gobber made them stop. After making a quick head count, counting Hiccup first and now sure that no young dragons were following, he didn't wait a moment to let them have it.

"Never! Never in my whole time as the instructor… no, as a Viking and member of the Hooligan tribe did I ever get stuck with such useless, barnacle brained excuses for Vikings! Which one of you miserable excuses for Vikings is responsible for waking up the dragons?!"

"I was" said Hiccup in a small voice, though it was not true. He knew that Gobber would go easier on him (which wasn't much) compared to what he might say or do to Fishlegs who had clearly been dreading this moment.

"Not much of a leader, are you? You almost got everyone killed! How old are you? Eleven year old and already putting yourself and everyone in danger like that?" Gobber was turning an interesting shade of red, so Hiccup didn't think it was right for him to correct him. Hiccup was twelve… almost twelve actually, next week was his birthday.

Snotlout snickered and Gobber turned to him immediately with narrowed dangerous eyes "do you find this amusing Snotlout?"

"No… no sir!" he said standing straight.

"I have had it with all of your, this was the last straw. Starting next week, we will have extra training. You will be up and in the training field before the sun rises! Anyone who is late will be there until the dragons awaken from their hibernation!"

"Good one Haddock, as if you weren't already slowing every down" said Snotlout who was standing next to Hiccup, making sure his big foot found Hiccup's little one and stepped on it with all his weight, which doubled Hiccup's. Hiccup bit down his lip to keep his yelp from escaping. Of all the low blows, this was one of the worst. Snotlout knew it wasn't Hiccup's fault, but he was willing to use any excuse to make him miserable.

"SILENCE!" shouted Gobber though now they were all quiet, "now, into more important matters. Though you are a bunch of morons with algae for brains, I imagine all of you got yourselves a dragon"

"Yes…" they all said without much fervor. This was supposed to be the best of days, when they got their first dragon. But they all felt hungry, tired, and at top of that shamed for not doing as well they had expected themselves to do.

Astrid couldn't help to turn her head slightly to look at Hiccup, but he seemed as miserable as the rest of them. Then she remembered he had been the last to leave the cliff before Gobber. Had he actually gone back and gotten a dragon? He didn't look any worse than them, but she guessed he had found a way; otherwise he wouldn't be standing there so calm.

"Then, at least you are going the right way. After this, your next step into becoming full members of the Hooligan tribe is to train your dragon. You will make this dragon know who is in charge and without a doubt have it follow your every command. Though dragons are very important tools for us Hooligans for both battle and hunting, this will also prove that you have the guts to become brave Viking warriors, for dragons will not follow the orders of any lily-pants! Are you lily-pants?"

"No sir!" they shouted a little louder, for exception of Hiccup and Fishlegs.

"You will teach them simple commands. If you have any trouble, ask your parents" what he knew was too basic and wouldn't really help with the specific type of the dragons they had chosen.

"Now, take your dragons back home, place them somewhere warm and wait for spring. Once they wake up you will have four months to train them for your initiation. If you prove yourself worthy, then you can call your selves Hairy Hooligans, but not before"

The static of senseless excitement had returned to most of the teens, even Hiccup felt a little inspired.

"Heroes or exile!" shouted Gobber, which deflated the little excitement that had entered Hiccup's spirits. If he failed the initiation, he would be exiled.

"Heroes or exile!" shouted most of the trainees back with excitement. Hiccup couldn't bring himself to say the words.

As they finally made it back to the village, did finally Fishlegs talk to Hiccup.

"Thank you, thank you for not telling Gobber…" he knew he was one of the worst trainees, and if Gobber gave his parents any other complain he knew he would be gutting fish for a whole month.

"Don't worry about it," said Hiccup trying to show it was nothing, when in reality it was. He been the heir of the tribe and Gobber been his father's closest friend meant that Hiccup would get an earful from his father. Though he was used to it, he couldn't help to cringe at the thought. The gods probably hated him, why otherwise would they give his father the loudest voice he had ever heard.

"I wish I could say that… Everyone knows it was my fault, and surely now they won't talk to me anymore"

"Like they have such interesting things to say," Hiccup said with ease.

Fishlegs could help to laugh, though it sounded more like wheezing do to his asthma and many other ailments.

Hiccup was good friends with Fishlegs not just because they were both rejects among those in their age group, but because they found the tribe and the villagers rather lacking of uniqueness. They had been living the same way their ancestors had, without any change. Their stories and dilemmas didn't differ of those hundreds of years ago.

Then Fishlegs became deadly quiet after remembering something, "you didn't get a dragon…" he remembered seeing Hiccup reach for a Nadder, but it had been the same one that had let out the alarm, "you can have mine," though it was a lovely Gronkle. It was so beautiful that he didn't think twice about reaching for her and pulling her out, which caused Hiccup to lose his chance, "If Gobber finds out you don't…"

"But I do" he said with more cheer than he had felt the whole day. He had almost forgotten, but when he reached for his dragon inside the dark cave he had felt there was something very special about that dragon "I went back to the right tunnel and got one"

"But… but they say that side of the cave is cursed and it was so dark, how did you find it?"

"I… is really hard to explain, but I think I always knew it was there… now don't look at me like that Fishlegs, I am as skeptical as you on this, but I knew it was there when I reached in the darkness"

"Well, who would have said…" he said with a concerned smile. Though both of them liked to call themselves nonbelievers, deep in their hearts they did believe that fate was not something you could go against for better or worse.

As they walked towards Hiccup's home, Fishlegs couldn't stop his concern and wonder anymore.

"So, what type of dragon is it?" he asked.

"I… I don't know" admitted Hiccup. He had been so worried about getting at least a dragon that he hadn't stopped to check on it.

"What do you… if what you say is true then it could be a great dragon that can even make a Monstrous Nightmare look like a salamander with wings!"

"Is probably a Garden Dragon with my luck" laughed Hiccup softly but his longtime friend could see he was starting to wonder the same thing. What if he had an incredible dragon in there? His grandmother Gothi had said again and again that Hiccup was destined for great things.

He placed the basket down gently, and then removed the lid. Both boys looked inside before all excitement left them. Inside the basket was a small black dragon. The only things interesting about it were that it was very, very small and that it was completely black. It wasn't a type of dragon he recognized or had ever seen. Then he realized it was probably a mongrel. Though mongrels were rare among dragons, he couldn't find any other explanation. Maybe this little guy was a reject too, so that was why he was sleeping on the other cave by itself.

The dragons they were supposed to pick were meant to be young. It was easier to train them that way but they were a lot bigger than this. His dragon was about the size of a Garden dragon, though slimmer. He didn't think this one had much to grow, which meant it would become a hunting dragon.

Now it would be a while before he got a chance to pick a decent riding dragon. He no longer allowed his terrible luck to surprise him; instead he dealt with it as it came. Maybe Ghoti was wrong, maybe he was not meant for anything great. He sighed in frustration as he covered the basket again and picked it up.

"I can just imagine how much fun Snotlout is going to have making fun of me" said Hiccup, "I might as well already take the next ship towards Rome"

"Don't even joke about that!" said Fishlegs with a small shake on his voice "I don't want to follow Snotlout if you leave; the gods know he would lead us directly to our deaths if he becomes the next chief. Besides, you are smart, I am sure you will figure something out"

He didn't have as much confidence on himself as Fishlegs did. He really hoped his friend was right.

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BetaReader DinoMaster316, thank you so much for your help.

Please leave a review, it would be really appreciated.


	4. Hiccup's Amazing and Rare Dragon

**How to Train Your Dragon the Hard Way**

Chapter 4

Hiccup would come to remember this as the worst day of his life until then. Worse than the day a dragon tried to eat his kitten, or worse than the day when Snotlout pulled down his pants in front of everyone at the great hall. It was even worse than the time he had been caught dragon watching, which was highly frowned upon in his tribe for it was very geeky. It really had to be worst day of his life.

It was a good thing our hero didn't know at that time he would have a lot worse as time went by, for he is the hero of the story and we can't really expect most things to go his way.

Hiccup really hoped his father was right and that he would become a little more Viking like as time went by. Though, part of him didn't want to change that much. He didn't want to be senselessly violent. Part of him wanted to live differently than the other Vikings. Like his mother had told him once a long time ago 'There is more than one path to Valhalla'. He really wished she was there to tell him exactly which pat that was, because he had the feeling that at the time he was taking the very long path that would take him first to Helheim for an extended stay, and then maybe if the guide felt kind enough would give him a small flyer about Valhalla.

That was definitely the path he was in. He thought as he felt his stomach drop when he spotted Snotlout near the entrance of his home with his gang waiting for him. Tuffnut, Ruffnut, Dogsbreath, Wartihog, and Speedifist stared at Hiccup with a mix of apathy, repulsion, aimless aggression, and a tiny little bit of pity, but only very little. This was not unusual, though this time he knew they would have a great target for their mockery; his tiny mongrel dragon.

"Useless!" shouted Snotlout with a cruel smirk when he spotted Hiccup "about time you showed up! Let's see what excuse for a dragon you got!"

Without even getting a chance to protest, Hiccup felt the basket get pulled off his shoulders. Carelessly, the brute of his cousin placed the basket on the ground and opened before peering inside. It was only an instant later that he started laughing so hard that he fell to the snow holding his sides. Dogsbreath, Tuffnut and Wartihog started to laugh too, though they had no idea why. Speedifist and Ruffnut, who were a little smarted, took a pick inside before they started laughing too, though not as senselessly as the others.

"Is that a mongrel?" asked Speedifist, the smartest among the boys that followed Snotlout, and probably smarter than Snotlout too. He thought it was funny, as it was a very small dragon but he also thought it had very cool scales.

Snotlout didn't lose a moment and started attacking "It's like a bat and a salamander had special night together and then a pussycat…"

"Yeah, yeah we get the picture" said Ruffnut taking another peek. She too thought there was something cool about that small dragon. Like Snotlout tried to insinuate, there was something very feline about it.

Snotlout noticed Speedifist and Ruffnut were not laughing anymore; instead they were staring at the little dragon intensely.

"Move aside!" he pushed both of them and looked inside again. He saw some of what they saw, and soon his grin was gone. Hiccup wondered what had happened. The spell was broken when the little dragon yawned. It had a neat forked tongue, healthy looking pink gums and absolutely no teeth. This dragon had the worst timing in the world, and Hiccup would later come to understand this was not to be taken lightly.

"Toothless?" Hiccup asked himself astonished. Even very young dragons had teeth or fangs. His little mongrel didn't have any.

"Pfff… HAHAHAHAHA!" Snotlout started laughing again, "this… this is just too much! How useless can you be? You got the only toothless dragon in all of Berk! Do you really think you can become the next chief with that?!" and there was a challenge in the last part.

"Really Hiccup," said Speedifist, who only followed Snotlout because he was friends with Tuffnut, "you are the son of the chief, you will place our whole tribe to shame when you show that at the initiation test. Why didn't you get a Monstrous Nightmare?"

"I got the best Monstrous Nightmare in the whole island, you know? Fait must be giving us some type of signal, right Hiccup?" and his smile was cruel as he said this, his face only inches away from Hiccup's.

"Hi… Hiccup's dragon is better than yours!" said Fishlegs drawing everyone's attention to himself, "I…" he hated been in the spotlight.

"You what?" Snotlout sneered at him as he closed on the big teenager. Though he was larger than Snotlout, Fishlegs was not a violent person, actually he hated violence. This made him an easier target than Hiccup who could actually run quite fast when he sensed danger. Fishlegs had the grace of the Gronckles his family trained.

"I said," Fishlegs took a deep breath, "Hiccup's dragon is better than yours" he felt an asthma attack coming soon.

Hiccup had to hand it to Fishlegs. He didn't flinch when Snotlout raised his fist at him. And he also patted himself on the back when he jumped and grabbed Snotlout's fist and lowered it. They were both acting very Viking like, which it was no good when you were on the losing side.

"That's enough you two. There is no point on this!" he was using all his strength to keep Snotlout's fist lowered, though he was pretty sure Snotlout could send him to the healer with just one swing.

"That mongrel is and will never be better than my pure breed Monstrous Nightmare," Snotlout said before pushing Hiccup easily. He felt bottom first in the snow, but thankfully unharmed.

"You know," said Astrid who had been listening behind them for a few moments, "you could show who got the best dragon during the initiation test. After all, we all get a score at the end" and she also wanted to show her dragon was better than theirs.

"Yeaaah!" said Snotlout liking the idea of humiliating Hiccup in front of everyone, "we will see how pathetic your mongrel is when I kick its butt and yours at the initiation"

Hiccup had no idea what abilities his little mongrel had, but still, as the son of the chief he knew he could not decline the challenge, "alright, I accept your challenge Snotlout. If I win, you will apologize to me and my dragon in front of everyone"

"And you will have to clean my dragon's stable for a whole year after I leave you eating my dust" said Snotlout with a harsh laugh.

Dammit. He could have picked something better than an apology, but it was already done.

"See you later, useless" and he left with his so called friends as they laughed at his expense. Speedifist and Ruffnut looked back for a moment wondering how this would end.

Once they were out of sight Fishlegs and Hiccup felt like they could finally breathe normally. Both felt like idiots putting themselves in danger like that. Though Astrid Hofferson thought they had been quite brave, though stupid.

"So, that's you dragon," Astrid said finally taking look inside the basket. It was a very cute dragon, "you are lucky none of the challenges include riding or you would be toast"

"Thanks Astrid, I guess," said Hiccup looking inside as the little dragon yawned again.

"I didn't do it for you," she said with a calculating smile, "I want to kick his ass so bad. Once I show a better score than either one of you…" then she went very silent. Her smile was gone and her eyes became cold, "make sure not to embarrass yourself too much" she said before leaving.

"I am sorry, I think I made things worse," said Fishlegs realizing his common sense had not been working so well that day, after the whole dragon chase and then jumping off a cliff, and almost drowning and etc, etc, etc… He wasn't in his best state of mind.

"Don't worry, you didn't" he said staring at Astrid's retreating form. He usually liked Astrid, not just because she was the most beautiful girl he had ever met, but because she was smart and reliable. However, that day he felt like her pawn. He wasn't sure what she was after, but he had been assured by her words that it would bring him nothing good.

Fishlegs waited for Hiccup outside. He didn't feel like been face to face with the chief as he told his son off about reckless not Viking-like behavior.

"A whole nest! What were you thinking! You could have gotten yourself killed! Don't say another word!"

Though Hiccup hadn't said anything yet; he knew well the best thing for him to do is let his father ramble on until he was out of fuel.

"I know what you are going to say!"

Like heck you do! Hiccup wanted to shout back. However, he was too tired to argue or even show his true feelings. He wanted to ask his father why he made such a show of telling everyone he was going to grow up into been a Viking just like him. Hiccup was nothing like his father for exception of their wild auburn hair.

"You better not even think about going back in there!" wow, he actually did know. Hiccup had thought about going back to sketch the place, and maybe get a different dragon.

After a few more minutes of shouting to his heart's content Stoick told his son he was grounded from going dragon watching (which actually he wasn't even allowed to do anyways), and that he would have to clean the dragons' pens for the following month all on his own (though this was something Hiccup already did).

Everyone heard the chief's booming voice and felt a little pity for Hiccup. Fishlegs, who was sitting on the steps outside watching the sun starting to set, felt truly guilty. It had all been his fault. He promised himself he would help Hiccup as much as he could to train his little dragon. Hiccup was his only friend, and that he could always relay on him. But sometimes he felt the same couldn't say the same for his own friendship. A few moments after the chief was done with his shouting Hiccup came out looking as if nothing had happened.

Fishlegs felt an even greater stab of guilt. Hiccup was so used to his father's scolding that it didn't even depress him anymore, like it did when he was smaller and his mother had recently been reported as lost.

After leaving Fishlegs' baskets at his home, they proceeded to the great hall where they knew the Dragon Manual was. None read the book more than them, and tried to add to it everyone once in a while but it was hard with everyone guarding their families' secret so tightly. Hiccup hoped he would find a clue on how to train a mongrel dragon, or at least get an idea of what its mix was. Maybe that would help him training it.

They went through the book many times well into the night.

"This is hopeless," said Hiccup closing it with finality. The most he could guess was his dragon was some mix with a Garden dragon because of its size, but none of the dragons he knew, or the ones found on the book showed the other characteristics of his dragon.

"You could always speak to it," said Fishlegs before Hiccup covered his mouth.

"Shhhhh," said Hiccup looking around to make sure no one had heard his friends. Thankfully it was late and just about everyone had already gone home.

"I mean, you could ask him, right?" whispered Fishlegs.

"But dragons are so… stubborn," Hiccup sighed, but he knew he had no other choice.

You see, Hiccup had a rather rare ability. He has had it since birth and until he was five, did he realize that it was a rather dangerous one to have. His grandmother had told him it was something he had to keep a secret from his own parents. Hiccup had the incredible ability to speak Dragonese, the language most dragons spoke. One would think such ability would be very sought after, but for some reason there was a very old law stating that anyone, including the son of the chief had to be banished if they were found to have this amazing ability.

Hiccup didn't think it was such an amazing ability. He had been listening to dragons talk since even before he could speak Norse. He found most of their conversations, just as he found that of his owners, rather boring and repetitive.

**Did you know cat tastes better than squirrel? **

**Oh yes, though I hate it that they have so much fur. My master was quite upset when I coughed out a ball of fur.**

**Why don't you skin it first? Stupid head.**

**Who are you calling stupid head, you human loving trash!**

And so on, and on, and on…

This was a very common conversation between dragons; especially if you had rescued your kitten from them. However, sometimes he did pick a few interesting things. He had noticed dragons without meaning to picked many traits from their masters. It was funny to watch how much they were alike without them realizing.

Dragons always denied this as it was great insult to them admitting that they liked their masters sometimes. Many dragons, depending on your family, were no better than slaves and mistreated greatly. He didn't blame them at all for disliking them. However, it worried him that sometimes they would speak about The Dragon Rebellion. This was something that happened long before his and his father's time. The details were rather blurry because Hooligans didn't feel like writing most of the time. The dragons talked about as if it was the point where everything changed, but as soon as they caught sight of him, they became very quiet. They knew he could understand them.

He had tried to talk to a few about it, to which they would snap at him and chase him away. It took him no time to realize it was a very sore subject to them. He had also tried to talk to them about ordinary things, but they tended to ignore him unless they wanted something specific. Even thought they were very interesting creatures, dragons were very selfish. You didn't need to know how to speak Dragonese to realize this.

However, it will be when his dragon awakens that he will truly understand just how selfish they can be.

BetaReader DinoMaster316, thank you so much for your help.

Please leave a review, it would be really appreciated.


	5. Vikings Are Not The Only Ones That Dream

**How to Train Your Dragon the Hard Way**

Chapter 5

Hiccup had a restless night. He kept waking up in the middle of the night after dreaming of a moving mountain. It crossed the sea until it reached Berk's cold shores. He stood before the mountain with something he thought was fear and awe. Then the mountain talked, and it told him of its hunger. The more it talked, the more it became clear that it wasn't just any mountain (leaving aside that it could talk). Eventually he realized it was not a mountain but a volcano. It also wanted to eat Berk just for heck of it. The mountain that was not a mountain, wanted to swallow Berk entirely with its molten lava until there was no life left on it, human or otherwise.

Every single time after waking from that dream he would stare at his ceiling for a long time. What kind of crazy dream was that? He would think. Then he would try to go back to sleep and dream the same thing and then wake up again.

At one point he was no longer scared of the mountain because he already knew it was not a mountain and what it wanted. Instead, he watched from Dragon Cliff as the rest of Berk was swallowed by the molten rock and fire. The dragons flew away, many carrying Hooligans and their families. That was the farthest he had ever gotten in the dream, he realized subconsciously. Then, his father would pull him up at top of one of his dragons and carry him away too. From afar he watched the place he called home burn. Then he remembered his small dragon that was still sleeping under his bed.

With that last thought he woke up to another cold Berk morning. Part of him wanted to go back to sleep, but he knew it would be fruitless. That last part of his dream left him troubled, and hoped it was the very last time he dreamt that.

After getting dressed, he went to check on his little dragon which was still sleeping under his bed. He took this opportunity to look at it closer. It was a boy, okay so it would hopefully grow some more. Gently, he opened his mouth hoping the day before had been a mistake, but there were still no teeth. He wondered what kind of food it ate, if that was the case. It didn't look like the type to eat rocks, like Gronckles or other boulder type dragons. Maybe it liked chicken, though that would be costly. Chickens were rather expensive in Berk. Maybe, and hopefully he liked hunting. That would mean he wouldn't have to train him on how to and the expense of maintaining it would be lowered.

As those thoughts ran through his head he started to examine its wings. They were indeed much like a bat's wings, and then his breath caught. He hadn't noticed before because the little dragon had its wings folded, but when he unfolded them he found them to be very large in comparison to their owner. This was hopefully a fast dragon. He hurried to his work table and pulled one of his sketchbooks and started to draw the little dragon. He drew it as it slept, making sure to place as much detail as possible on the black scales which actually had a small tint of blue to them. Then, he drew some rough sketches of how it would look like when it flew. He was getting some of his hope back.

"Hiccup! Breakfast!" he heard his father shout from the kitchen.

At breakfast, he did his best not to look at his father who was devouring everything before him. It wasn't like the chief was that hungry, but he needed an excuse not to talk to his son, especially after shouting at him the day before. It was rather awkward between the two of them, especially since Hiccup's mother hadn't returned to Berk for a few years from her last travel. He had yet to show his father his dragon, and hoped that their awkward and silent meal together would go as usual.

"So," he started and Hiccup knew it was going to be one those mornings, "about waking the whole dragon nest."

"Yeah, sorry about that" he said looking down at his food, though he was not hungry anymore.

"Ehm… Gobber told me that you got a dragon" Stoick sounded truly hopeful. All boys always got wound up when talking about their dragons.

"Ye…yes, I did!" Hiccup tried to fake excitement, "a great dragon!"

"Good! Good!" Stoick said with relief, "I can't wait to show you some Haddock training secrets. I just know you will be the best at the initiation test!"

"Yeah, thanks dad" oh, how he dreaded the moment his father would see his toothless mongrel of a dragon, "I will be going now," he said standing and hoping he would be able to escape before his father asked another question, "got to go help Gobber at the smithy."

Though it was too early to go to the smithy, Stoick didn't stop him. He really wished he had a better relation with his son.

When Hiccup was younger Stoick didn't think much of it, but the boy took after his mother more than he would ever take after him. He was sure that if Valhallarama was there she would have known exactly what to say to the boy. They had a connection that he felt he would never be able to recreate with their son. He tried to ignore the fact at times that it was her who taught him the best way to dragon watch. Stoick couldn't see the big deal they made about it. He knew all he needed about Monstrous Nightmares, what was the point of knowing about other dragons. Hopefully dragon training will be where they find that connection.

Hiccup was relieved to be outside of his home, and his relief only grew when he saw his grandmother; the village's wise woman, Gothi. She was sitting on the steps of his house, already waiting for him. He sat next to her on the steps on utter silence. Both were appreciating the rising sun; one of the few beautiful things from the cold and humid island. Somehow, she always knew when he needed advice. It wasn't always the best advice, but he knew he could always count on her. She was the only family member he had left on his mother's side.

"Did your soothsaying tell you?" he asked curiously. Though he understood very little of the mystical and even at times called himself a misbeliever, he still thought there was something else to his grandmother. Not for nothing was she the wise woman of the tribe. Many went to her for all kind of advice.

"Nope, actually I heard that stupid and violent boy telling everyone about it. You got yourself a mongrel," but her smile was as kind, much like his mother's smile, "soothsaying is not that easy, you know?"

"I know," most of the time his grandmother's predictions were wrong. Still, he wondered what his father would say when he heard that he got a mongrel of a dragon.

"A great dragon, that's what I saw," she said trying to calm his fears.

"It didn't look great to me. It has no teeth and it's so tiny compared to the other dragons" though it did have a wonderful wing span and incredible black scales.

"Hiccup, Hiccup," his grandmother said with a tired sigh. Sometimes her grandson could be as thick headed as his father, "you know better than that. Don't judge the book by its cover"

"I know, but…" it was so small!

"Don't mind what Snotlout says, and don't worry about what your father will think when he sees it. The only thing you need to worry about…" Gothi gave a dramatic pause.

"Yes?" here it was the piece of wisdom he had been waiting for.

"The only thing you need to worry about is about not arriving late to the smithy, or Gobber is going to be really upset with you"

"I forgot!" Hiccup stood up and ran as fast as he could. The last thing he needed was Gobber being upset at him even more.

Gothi was relieved that he was gone. She didn't know how to placate his fears. She was sure she had read the signs correctly. Her grandson, she had read, was meant to become a great hero with an incredible dragon companion at his side. She didn't ask for him to ride a Sea Dragonus Maximus, but at least something that would make him stand out the good way. A mongrel was not what she had in mind. He was a smart boy, smarter than many of Vikings in their island, and brave too if he gave himself a chance.

The small old woman stood up with a sigh. She missed her daughter so very much, and having Hiccup around always made her feel like she was out there somewhere. She had started practicing soothsaying because she wanted some type of sign that told her that Valhallarama was okay, but was yet to get one. Most of the time her predictions had to do with small things the villagers lost that never mattered, or about her only grandson which of course was important, but never of her daughter.

Hiccup rubbed his arms as he approached the smithy. He was only slightly late, which meant he was only going to get teased by Gobber. He could live with that, he thought. It was much better than the earful he got from him the day before.

"I thought that dragon of yours had eaten you!" laughed Gobber as Hiccup entered the smithy. Let the teasing begin!

"Har har, I guess you too heard from Snotlout" Hiccup said as he put on his working apron.

On the days he didn't have training he helped out at the smithy. It was for a few coins, but it did allow him to buy things his father didn't appreciate. Also, Gobber didn't mind having an apprentice that actually had some brains and could appreciate his profession.

Of course, at training he had to treat Hiccup just the same. At top of that Gobber knew that it hadn't been Hiccup who woke up the dragons. He had gotten the truth from Ruffnut and Tuffnut in exchange for a few old dull daggers. He knew Hiccup was too smart to make a mistake like that. Yes, he was clumsy when handling weapons and such, but he was a master artisan just as much as him. For that time, he thought, he would cut him some slack and not tell the boy he knew the truth.

"Yeap, you are in big trouble" but all other teasing was fair game.

"Please don't tell father about my dragon,"

"I wouldn't dream of it," laughed Gobber loading few crooked swords on Hiccup's arms, "nor would anyone else. Your father won't be too happy when he finds you didn't bring a Monstrous Nightmare or at least a Thunderdrum"

"Why didn't I think of that!" of his father's dragons, the one he preferred was Thornado, a Thunderdrum. Thorch, his father's Monstrous Nightmare was a pompous know-it-all. And if he didn't know it, which was most of the time, he would make it up. Thornado was quiet and smart, though he didn't pay or care much for his master or his family.

"Is it really that small?" asked Gobber a little worried.

"Yeah, maybe it's still very young. It has no teeth"

"I thought Snotlout was making that part up! Really Hiccup, I know you are not Viking material right now, but I was really hoping that would change once you got your dragon"

"You and everyone else," Hiccup sighed, "maybe I am not made for this."

"Nonsense! You think the first rider was anything like Snotlout? So you are not that strong, or skilled, or big…"

"I get the point,"

"But that just means that you have to work harder at it, and probably the same will apply to your little mongrel. You just got things a little harder than most," he wanted to say everyone, but he was trying to cheer the kid up.

Work at it was always Gobber's advice. Why couldn't he have it easy like Snotlout or the other kids? Why everything he had to do had to be done the hard way; being a Viking, training a dragon, making his father proud, and the list just kept on going.

Begrudgingly, he started to fix the crooked swords not knowing that somewhere else his biggest challenge was waking up.

Far away from Berk, but not far enough, in an island where a volcano rumbled a Sea Dragonus Maximus started to wake up. It had been there for such a long time that the Vikings in the area had completely forgotten about it. Over the centuries, it had grown so much that it barely fit in the mouth of the volcano. It was getting rather uncomfortable. His snout at the moment was the only thing that fit comfortably on that wonderfully warm volcano, and he smelled a few things he found rather curious.

First, he smelled a lot of humans. How long had he been sleeping? He didn't remember this many only a few centuries ago. Then another scent, one rather familiar was approaching his territory. It was another Sea Dragonus Maximus! Wonderful, he loved a good chat when taking his meals, and usually the meal only shouted in fear rather than having a few words with him. It was still a little far away, so he would wait. He was already hungry, but the humans weren't going anywhere.

The dragon decided to go back to sleep until his guest arrived, though it wasn't a restful sleep. He dreamt of a small island not far and a tiny human boy who stood on its shores facing him. The boy, he couldn't make up his face, was not afraid of him and he spoke to him like an old friend. The behemoth of a dragon had mixed feelings about this tiny human because he was getting a good chat out of him. He wasn't running off shouting his little head off, but actually had something interesting to say. It was a rather pleasing dream that way. However, he also knew it was very dangerous when humans spoke the language of the dragons. Whenever humans like that appeared everything seemed to go wacky. In his dream, the dragon wondered how much he should let the boy speak before swallowing him whole.

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	6. Conversing With A Rather Small Dragon

**How to Train Your Dragon the Hard Way**

Chapter 6

Hiccup was dreaming of a warm and wonderful summer. In mid-dream he remembered how he had been helping Fishlegs to gather rocks for his Gronckle. It was kind of silly how his friend insisted to talk to Meatlug while she slept. Fishlegs claimed that it was an old family secret. If you talked to your dragon while it slept, it would already know you by the time it woke up. He highly doubted that as he jumped into a small lake in the nude.

His attention returned fully to his dream. The cool (not freezing) water felt wonderful against his warm skin. It was even better than the true summer, he thought as he floated in the water with no worry whatsoever looking up at the blue sky. Lazy clouds floated about and far he could see a few riders. He tried to push his dream in that direction with all his will, but the dream wouldn't have it. Anyways, he thought tiredly, he wasn't going to be riding a dragon for a long time. He had to make sure Toothless (he thought it was an okay name) was well trained first.

"Hiccup?" he heard someone call before he lifted his head from the waters. His eyes made contact with intense blue ones.

"As… Astrid?" he called turning his body vertically in the water hoping it wasn't too clear to see his naked form.

Though it was a dream, Hiccup couldn't help to blush even more when Astrid also blushed. She had seen him!

"Can… can I join you?" she asked very unlike Astrid before she started taking off her boots.

"Ehm…" his mouth was suddenly dry, but it didn't matter because the moment she gave him a soft smile his voice was gone.

"Hiccup!" she shouted before he noticed the small lake started to bubble. It suddenly felt very hot. Only seconds later the water started to boil and he started to sink.

Then he woke up at the sound a young dragon screeching and blasting something like fire around his room.

**"…OUT! LET ME OUT!" **screeched Toothless as he tried to break through the wooden ceiling.

Hiccup stared in amazement. Besides the very fast young dragon, he saw his room covered with scorch marks; the walls, the floor and the ceiling. Then he caught the smell of smoke. Just before it reach his feet he threw his blanket to the floor and hit it with his boot to stop the fire that had been close to swallowing him in his sleep.

**"LET ME OUT!" **Then the young dragon noticed Hiccup and in less than a second turned against him. **"You will pay human!" **it screeched as it charged towards Hiccup, wrapping its wings around itself and launching at him like a roman spear. A sound like no other he had ever heard wrapped the room as he froze. Who would have thought this was how he was going to die? Not him for sure.

**"Damn!" **screeched the young dragon before pulling back by spreading its wings again **"I am out of fire!"**

Hiccup looked around; it did seem the little guy used up all his shots to try to get out, lucky him. His young dragon went to sit on the rafter, high enough so Hiccup couldn't reach him. From there, it glared at Hiccup with mistrust.

**"Ehm…" **he didn't know how to start, **"my name is Hiccup" **the dragon looked slightly surprised at hearing a human speak its language. The plates on his head which resembled ears twitched slightly. He wasn't sure what else to say, but he decided to keep going as the small dragon had its head tilted in curiosity, **"do you mind if I call you Toothless?" **he wasn't sure if dragons had names before becoming theirs, but he thought it was better to be polite

The small dragon didn't answer. Instead it flew down from the rafters and sat watching Hiccup from a safe distance.

**"Would you like another name?" **Hiccup asked unsure, maybe not having teeth was a soft spot on the small dragon.

The dragon narrowed its bright eyes at Hiccup before blowing a small smoke ring that floated until it hit Hiccup on the face. It was completely harmless, but it did make Hiccup cough a little.

**"Fish?" **the dragon asked curiously to check if truly the human could understand him, "**Fish!" **he screeched when the human showed he understood. Like lightning it tackled Hiccup. Hiccup stumbled a little before feeling a bit ticklish. He realized then that Toothless was searching him for said fish.

"**I… I don't… hahaha… I don't have it on me… right now" **he laughed before the small dragon bit him on the side "Ouch!" cried Hiccup as the small dragon crawled out of his tunic and went to sit on the scorched floor, again at safe distance from him.

**"Toothless hungry, I want fish now," **and blew a few more smoke rings.

**"Alright," **said Hiccup with a nervous smile. He thought it was actually lucky that his dragon was all gums; otherwise he would be bleeding right then **"I will get you some, just stay there."**

**"Make it a lot of fish!" **screeched the small dragon before blowing another ring of smoke.

**"That's not how you ask for things," **Hiccup said standing straighter, trying to look more imposing on the little dragon that clearly had no respect for him.

**"Make it fast!" **it screeched meanly before glaring at Hiccup with slit, cat like eyes.

**"Yeah, I heard you the first time," **he sighed before going to the kitchen and getting a couple of cods. Hopefully it would be enough to satisfy the little jerk. As he started his way back he heard yowling from no other than Fiddlesticks.

**"Come here kitty, kitty. I heard cat is delicious!" **Toothless hissed in content as it watched the rafter where Fiddlesticks was sitting with its fur standing up and hissing at him. Any other cat would have already become Toothless' meal, but Fiddlesticks was a tough cat. It had already survived countless attempts from dragons. He was a Viking's cat after all.

**"That's enough!" **shouted Hiccup before the small dragon turned on him.

**"What did you say human!" **It was an outrage! No human could talk like that to him.

**"The name is Hiccup, and you are going to listen to what I tell you and I am telling you to stop! Fiddlesticks is not your meal, you asked for fish, so here is your fish!" **He threw the fish at the small dragon's paws before he stretched his arms up. At once, his cat jumped to them and he took it outside to the living room. He made sure to close the door after so Toothless couldn't go after him.

**"I wanted cat" **Toothless grumbled pushing the fish slightly with its paws.

**"You are not eating Fiddlesticks or anyone else's cat. It is very… impolite to eat someone's pet" **he hoped it didn't sound like a question, like it sounded to him.

Toothless glared at the fish before starting to it eat begrudgingly.

**"Besides," **said Hiccup remembering something that might help, **"I heard they aren't that good, too much fur that makes you cough. It could ruin your smoke rings"**

**"Really?" **Toothless considered this new information. Yes, cats did have a lot of fur and that couldn't be good for him or his absolutely perfect smoke rings.

**"Yeah, I heard it from other dragons" **said Hiccup sitting cross-legged in front of the small dragon. It was kind of the truth. He had also heard from them how to evade such nuisance but he didn't think it would be a good idea to share that with Toothless for Fiddlesticks' sake.

**"Very well," **and with that Toothless started eating his fish with more pleasure.

Hiccup relaxed where he sat, but tried not to look too pleased. He knew that he had to be strict with his little dragon, but he found it difficult. He should have told him to not eat the cat because he said so, but he thought it was ridiculous to do it like that. Who was to say Toothless wouldn't try to eat Fiddlesticks when he wasn't around. He thought about what Fishlegs had said about training his dragon by talking to it. It was very unorthodox but it seemed like it might work.

**"You want?" **asked Toothless when he only had left a fish head; Hiccup was about to decline when the small dragon swallowed the whole thing, **"too slow" **and then crackled a very dragon like laugh.

Hiccup couldn't help a crooked smile. He tried to think how to approach the small disrespectful dragon.

**"So… what are you?" **maybe the little guy could help him deciphering this mystery.

**"Toothless," **it answered and Hiccup could have sworn Toothless rolled his eyes at him.

**"What I mean to ask is what type of dragon are you?" **

The little dragon tilted its head to the side and moved its ear like plates a little in thought.

**"Are there other dragons like you?" **maybe it wasn't a mongrel.

**"I don't remember," **Toothless said carelessly before striding like a suspicious cat towards him, swinging its finned tail from side to side **"what is it to you?"**

Hiccup was taken aback by the suspicion from the small dragon. He knew there were smart dragons, but he had never heard one question motives before.

**"I… I have never seen a dragon like you," **he said trying to remain calm under the scrutinizing gaze of the dragon, **"you are really fast, your fire looks different too, and I have never seen scales as dark as yours" **he hoped a little praising would help the dragon relax.

**"I am fast," **said the dragon proudly, "**my fire is fast too and I am one with the night"** and it almost sounded like he was reciting something he had been told when he was just a hatchling.

**"I can see that" **though it was not so rare for dragons to brag, he couldn't help to smile. His little dragon was proving to be very smart, fast, and if it grew some more he might also call it dangerous.

**"Human, now tell me why am I here. You don't seem to want to harm me, and have fed me and even named me, but I still don't understand" **maybe it wasn't that smart. Dragons throughout the island knew well the Vikings liked to train them. Maybe, thought Hiccup wondering if this was the reason he had never seen a dragon like Toothless before, maybe Toothless was not from anywhere near the Viking archipelago.

**"In my tribe, we train dragons for riding, hunting and battle. I thought you would be a great hunting dragon" **he decided to try to play on the pride of the dragon, **"there are a lot of big and powerful dragons in this island, but to me you seemed better than them"**

**"Is that so?" **maybe he had played too close to Toothless pride because the dragon sounded distrusting, **"how come?"**

**"Well, like you said; you are faster and I bet you are great at blending yourself with the night sky. I don't need a big dragon that scares off all the prey even before it can catch scent of it"**

**"All of that is true," **said Toothless smugly. He thought this was a smart human to see the great qualities of his kind, though there was something he couldn't place his claw on it. The human looked young and also smaller in comparison to other humans he had seen, not that he had seen many **"But what is there for me in all this? I have no need for a human like you"**

**"Well…" **dammit, he hadn't thought of that, **"well, I can feed you, ehm three times a day. Also, I am a Viking in training so I will be going in a lot of adventures. Dragon like adventures, right?"**

**"We do," **or at least Toothless did. There was a reason why he was so far away from home, and it wasn't because he got lost… okay, so he had gotten kind of lost but that was neither here or there. He did like adventures, and he also like the idea of being fed, **"alright, I will stay but only because I want to and I won't call you master"**

**"Deal!"** he couldn't believe it had been this easy. Finally speaking Dragonese brought something good to his life. Maybe, no… he was sure he was going to be the best at the initiation. Yes, they would laugh at first when they saw his tiny dragon, but then he would leave them speechless when he got the best scores. Not Snotlout or even Astrid would be able to deny that he was better than them, at least in dragon training. His father would be proud and the tribe would finally start to treat him with respect and not just a walking disaster.

"Son!" Stoick the Vast said entering his son's room. His dragons had just woken up and he had the feeling his son's dragon too was up and about.

Hiccup didn't even get a chance to speak because the moment Toothless heard the booming voice and saw the equally immense Viking he decided that it was too dangerous to be left alive.

"GET IT OFF!" shouted Stoick as he tried to remove the small dragon that had attached itself to his face. Toothless got a good hold of the chief's nose and was trying to tear it off. Later on Hiccup would think himself lucky again that his dragon didn't have teeth or his father would have been even more cross. Finally Hiccup was able to pull Toothless off his father face which was not just red of the many scratches Toothless had left, but also because of Stoick's quick rising rage.

**"Don't move, or this is going to get even worse," **Hiccup whispered fast to Toothless as his father started to take deep breaths. Surprisingly, Toothless listened and stayed on Hiccup's arms dangling almost like a kitten. Had he been younger, his father would have thought the image endearing, but not this time.

"What is that?" Stoick said trying to regain his composure.

"My dragon, his name is Toothless" Hiccup said fast, but not fast enough for his father.

"I thought you said you got yourself a good dragon," at this Toothless blew a smoke ring at Stoick, who swat at it with distaste.

"And he is!" Hiccup hoped his father would listen, "look at his wing span! He is really fast!" Toothless spread his wings before taking off lighting fast to the rafters, "and… and his fire is also really fast" Toothless started to gather a shot, hoping some of his fire had returned.

"I have seen enough!" Stoick could no longer hold his rage and exploded, "that is not! That is not a decent hunting dragon! It's too small and has no teeth! It also attacked me!"

"You scared him," Hiccup peeped.

"And what type of dragon is it anyways?" continued Stoick not paying attention to what his son had said "I have never seen its kind around here"

"I…" Hiccup had been dreading this. He still had no idea how explain to his father that he got more than likely a mongrel.

"Well?" asked Stoick crossing his thick arms across his chest.

"He is a…" Hiccup looked up at the dragon hoping for some help, but the dragon simply yawned though it had been sleeping all winter, "He is a… Dark Wrath! Yeah!" he thought it sounded fitting after attacking any human it saw, "Because of its scales it blends perfectly into the night and you saw how ferocious it was. Just wait until it grows!"

"I have never heard of Dark Wraths," though Stoick knew very little about other dragons for exception of Monstrous Nightmares, and a little about Thunderdrums from his mother's side.

"They come from far in the east, and live in very high mountains where people can't reach them. He is not accustomed to humans, so I think that is why he is so mistrusting" that could be kind of true, Hiccup thought.

"And you say it's going to grow?" it could be, Stoick thought, since the little dragon had no teeth.

"Oh yes, this one is very young, but I couldn't let the chance pass. It's very rare for a Dark Wrath to come this far" Hiccup couldn't help to feel he was digging a deep hole for himself. He had no idea if Toothless was actually at his full size.

Stoick sighed, at least he had a dragon and for what he had seen it was fast. Still, he knew nothing of Dark Wraths, though his son seemed to know plenty. That didn't settle well with him.

"Just make sure to have him well trained by initiation day," Stoick said looking at the dragon above, who was glaring back at him. There was something about that dragon's eyes that bothered him, but he couldn't decide what.

"Will do!" said Hiccup happy that his father didn't look that disappointed.

After dinner that day Hiccup got ready to sleep. He was exhausted because he had to drag a slab of stone, with Fishlegs' help, to his room. It seemed Toothless liked to heat his own bed before going to sleep, which Hiccup thought was very smart. He watched curiously from his bed as Toothless used his very unusual fire to draw a large circle and then laid on it. His fire was so hot that it warmed up Hiccup's room fast.

**"Good night Toothless," **said Hiccup getting drowsy in no time.

**"Good night human," **said his dragon as it closed its cat like eyes.

Hiccup was back in his dream, floating in the nude in the small lake. Astrid wasn't there anymore, which was a shame, but then he spotted Toothless flying over at fast speeds and roaring with glee. He wasn't sure, because it was a dream after all, but he could have sworn Toothless wasn't small but was just farther away which made him look small. One can always dream.

BetaReader DinoMaster316, thank you so much for your help.

Please leave a review, it would really be appreciated.


	7. Dragons Are Absolutely Not The Best Pets

**How to Train Your Dragon the Hard Way**

Chapter 7

Training dragons was something his family had been doing for countless generations. There were too many legends trying to explain how it all happened. Some included striking a deal with the gods and so on. But even with all this knowledge, Hiccup still found training Toothless the hardest thing in his life. He had tried talking to him, but most of the time he refused to listen. It seemed the only part of their deal the small dragon was interested on was the part about him being fed.

He tried being civil with the dragon, polite and reasonable but Toothless would have none of it. Then he tried training him like any other Viking trained their dragons, but that was simply not his style. He detested shouting and also being irrational. He was a firm believer that there had to be some common sense on what he did. He wasn't sure how many approaches he had tried those weeks after Toothless woke up.

The dragons answer was either **"Later", **"I** don't feel like it", "let me sleep tiny human", **oreven** "if you want to wake up with all your toes, you will leave me alone". **He was the most ungrateful, selfish, meanest dragon he had ever known. He appreciated Toothless warming up the room for the remaining the winter but that wasn't going to get him a passing grade during the initiation.

Without meaning to, an exasperated sigh left him as he did his usual work at the smithy.

"You look more troubled than usual," said Gobber as his apprentice sharpened a large sword. He took a look at Hiccup's dragon that was sleeping near the fire. The little thing was fast when awake and loved to cause trouble around the small smithy. It usually took some fish to get him to quiet down.

"You don't say," said Hiccup checking the edge of the sword, it was perfectly sharp.

"This is about Toothless, isn't it?" he had abstained from asking his apprentice about this, but could no longer hold his tongue, which very rare of him.

"Kind of," said Hiccup, "he rarely listens, and… and sometimes I think it's just out of spite" he knew dragons didn't like humans, but Toothless just seemed to enjoy making him have a bad time.

"Have you tried shouting?" it was the oldest trick in the Viking hat, but knowing Hiccup he might have forgotten about it.

"Yes, it didn't work," he admitted.

"I see," said Gobber with a thoughtful look on his face. It was very rare for a dragon not to listen to his master.

"Spring is coming, and in no time the initiation will start," Hiccup said as he placed the sword on the stack of finished work and went for an ax that needed a new handle, "I am so dead"

"Not dead, we stopped that a long time ago. You will be exiled, which is a good as dead for you but…" he stopped talking when he caught sight of Hiccup's anguished face. Hiccup was serious, thought Gobber; it couldn't really be that bad, could it? It had been a long time since any trainees had been banished; the last one was well before even he was born.

By the fire, they heard the dragon chuckle darkly. He had been listening to them.

"You got a very interesting dragon," said Gobber who felt a shiver, not that he would ever admit it. He had met mean dragons, but none had that behaved like Hiccup's. It was too smart for its own good.

"Shh…" said Hiccup as Toothless started to lecture him on the ways of dragons.

**"Dragons are not pets" **Toothless said stretching much like a cat, **"you already know that Hiccup" **It was the first time Toothless called him by his name, this was serious **"The only reason most dragons remain in this tribe is because they are scared of the Vikings, which you are not and probably never will be. I stay only because you promised me adventure and food. You have only delivered one, so don't expect much cooperation from my behalf until the second arrives." **And he stared deeply at Hiccup with what seemed to be a smirk, though it lost some of its intensity due to the dragon's lack of teeth. **"Just because you can speak to us does not mean you understand us. Dragons are not pets, or friendly, or nice. We are killers from the moment we are born. Don't doubt that a dragon will abandon his so called masters before getting killed because of him or her."**

"I don't know what he said, but I get the feeling it's directed at you" said Gobber now covered with Goosebumps. He had heard dragons talk to each other in occasions but usually stopped when they spotted a Viking, but never had he ever seen one address a Viking directly.

"I think so too," said Hiccup with a deep frown.

**"Never trust a dragon," **his dragon said and Hiccup could see he was telling the truth. He had known dragons were selfish, but this was something else. His dragon had no interest on anyone but himself. He would never be loyal, or kind, or friendly to him.

"In the name of the gods, what do you think that little demon said?" Gobber had to sit down. That last part had sounded dreadful.

"Never trust a dragon," said Hiccup. His teacher didn't question how he knew this. Actually, Gobber guessed he was probably right. The little beast yawned with no worry in the world and then went back to sleep. But, it kept one large green eye on them, and the toothless grin.

"Never trust a dragon," repeated Gobber.

The cold season passed and then the rainy one started. The outside world was full of mud and rain. It still was better than winter, but this didn't make it any easier for Hiccup to continue training Toothless. After Toothless' little speech he tried the old Viking way. If he was not going to play nice, neither was he. He shouted at Toothless at top of his lungs, which wasn't much, and it didn't work one bit.

Every once in a while Fishlegs would drop by and try to help him with what he used on his dragon, but Meatlug was a very different story. She actually liked Fishlegs, for which many dragons made fun of her, and was willing to listen to him and help him. After all, he did bring her the best boulders he could find, and scratched that wonderful place under her many chins. He even made sure she had nice dreams by telling her fairy tales containing Gronckle princess and such.

Toothless was as mean they came. Though they liked to pretend otherwise, his father's dragons actually found the little dragon charming in his own way. Thorch usually threatened Toothless, but the smaller dragon never let it get to him. Instead he threatened right back, and Hiccup could swear, he actually saw Thorch sweat. Meanwhile, Thornado did not aggravate the little dragon, which bothered Toothless somewhat because he didn't know how to behave around the mellow dragon. He was used to confrontation because of his size. Instead, the ocean blue dragon would crackle a few laughs at Toothless antics. Such was the occasion when Toothless decided to make the living room his personal potty.

**"Let me be!" **screeched Toothless before deciding to teach the young human a lesson as Hiccup carried him outside to do his dirty business.

So there he was out his front door holding a recently released Toothless, and his tunic covered on dragon waste just as Snotlout and the Thorston twins passed by. All of them accompanied by their dragons from what seemed like a successful fishing session.

"You are truly hopeless! You can't even potty train your pathetic excuse of a dragon. Well, not that your future will be too different. Just remember to clean Hookfang's stable well and we won't have any trouble" and Snotlout laughed along with the twins.

**"Is that really a dragon?" **said Barf, one of the heads of the Zippleback the twins shared.

**"I think not" **replied Belch, the other head of the Zippleback.

**"You are right! It's not a dragon but little salamander with a hygiene problem" **laughed Barf.

**"Even worse than a hatchling, even hatchlings know better than to go in the nest" **added Belch before they crackled at Toothless expense.

The twins and Snotlout had no idea what the dragons were saying, but they could tell a humiliating joke when they heard one, so they too laughed.

**"I thought I was supposed to compete against dragons," **said Hookfang with a distraught tone, though too exaggerated to be serious **"not a parasite that feeds off leftovers? It can't probably even spit fire" **Hiccup couldn't believe there was a Monstrous Nightmare even more stuck up that Thorch, but now he did.

**"Salamander! Parasite! I will show you pieces of rotten meat!" **screeched Toothless before he shot a warning blast at Hookfang's paws **"don't mess with me!"**

**"You pipsqueak, how dare you!" **Hookfang said before he covered himself in flames. The teens stepped away knowing well an angry Monstrous Nightmare was nothing to mess with.

"How dare your excuse for a dragon shoot at Hookfang! I will snap its miserable neck…" but the moment Snotlout took a step forwards another blast was shot at his feet, stopping him on his tracks. That had been too close.

**"Next time will be your fat head!" **Toothless said jumping off Hiccup's arms and standing between him and Snotlout, his tail lashing from side to side. **"Now you get it stinking human? Don't overestimate me if you want to wake up with all of your limbs." **And he hissed at them with narrowed eyes. Hiccup had never seen his dragon so upset before, it was a miracle he wasn't tearing off someone's face yet.

"Look at that things," said Tuffnut chuckling, "maybe we can use it to light the fire at the great hall" this was of course a very sensitive subject among small dragons do to the Fire-worm revolt many years ago.

**"How dare you!" **and before he knew it, Tuffnut was on the floor screaming as Toothless tried to tear off his nose with his strong gums. He was getting better at this after getting into a few more altercations with Stoick the Vast.

"So much for that," said Hiccup unsure about going to help Tuffnut as Snotlout and Hookfang were in the way.

"Get it off!" screamed Tuffnut before his sister raised her fishing pole and brought it down, but Toothless jumped off the teens face just in time, just like when he made Stoick hit himself in the face, and flew back to stand next to Hiccup.

"Ooops," said Ruffnut with a chuckle. She wasn't sorry at all.

**"Yuck! I think that one hasn't ever bathed!" **Toothless cringed spitting into the ground.

"This isn't over useless," said Snotlout glaring at both Hiccup and his dragon. Though Snotlout was an idiot for the most part, even he knew that dragon was not something to mess with. It was fast and its shot was very precise. The only reason why he still had a head was because the little dragon allowed it.

"Will it ever be," said Hiccup tiredly, though he knew the answer to this just as well as Snotlout.

"Of course," said Snotlout.

Then both thought the same things, a very rare thing to happen between them 'When one of us is dead'. Then he, the twins and their dragons left.

**"We are so dead," **said Hiccup tiredly.

**"Speak for yourself human," **said Toothless, **"I will make them pay for this offence!"**

Well, Hiccup thought, it seemed like he had just found Toothless motivation to do well at the initiation.

Not too far, at top of the roof of her house Astrid Hofferson pondered about what she had just seen. Through all the previous weeks she had wonder every once in a while about Hiccup's little mongrel. At first, she had also thought Hiccup was not fit to even train a chicken to lay eggs, but she quickly changed her mind when she saw the small dragon attack. Part of her was upset because she could already tell that this dragon was faster than her Stormfly, and its fire shooting skills were the same if not higher level. If one added these skills to a dark night, it was a rather scary image. It also bothered her how the small dragon placed himself between Hiccup and Snotlout. She wondered if it was mere coincidence, or the small dragon was actually protecting his master.

She had also taken the opportunity to observe the rest of the competition. She was not that worried about the twins but Snotlout and his Monstrous Nightmare was another story. Hookfang had grown even more since waking up and was not far from being a proper riding dragon. She had spotted the large catch Snotlout had brought from the sea, which meant he was already training for one of the main test during the initiation.

Well, she wasn't going to let those two of all people get ahead of her. With ease, she climbed off her roof and went to Stormfly's stable where she was finishing the last of her meal.

"Hey girl, want to go to the beach to fish?" Astrid said caressing Stormfly's flank.

Though Stormfly didn't like fish much, she still crooned and followed Astrid. It wasn't like she liked the human. No, it was more like she respected her. The moment Stormfly woke up she knew this was not a human to mess with. Though she was not big, she was tough and strong willed and Stormfly could appreciate this. Though, it did worry her that her human didn't give herself enough time to relax. Well, it wasn't her problem unless she stopped feeding her, which wasn't very likely because one of Astrid's main concerns was to make her the best dragon in Berk. And of course, Stormfly believed this was meant to be.

BetaReader DinoMaster316, thank you so much for your help.

Please leave a review, it would really be appreciated.


	8. Everyone Loves a Good Joke, Don't they?

**How to Train Your Dragon the Hard Way**

Chapter 8

Hiccup didn't know what he was destined for. His grandmother said it was greatness. His father expected greatness, though he didn't seem too sure Hiccup would reach it. Everyone else expected him to fail. Hiccup had never felt so lost because he couldn't see a way whatsoever to reach said greatness, but many ways to fail.

"**What has six eyes,  
Six arms,  
Six legs,  
Three heads,  
And a very short life?"**

He had hoped for once that things would go his way. Instead, he found himself trying to strike a deal with his own dragon.

"**Tell me!"**

After his confrontation with Snotlout and gang he had expected some cooperation coming from Toothless. Instead, he had found he was stuck in the same place as before, just with less dignity.

"**Three Vikings about to be eaten by a dragon" **Hiccup finished dully.

"**Hahahahahahahahahahaha!" **Toothless fell on his back laughing the hardest Hiccup had ever heard.

"**I get it, you don't like Vikings" **Hiccup said after a few minutes.

"**It's funny because it's true!" **Toothless continued to laugh.

Hiccup sighed looking down at the pile of fish Toothless had brought him. One fish for every joke he told the little dragon. However, it had taken forever. He wasn't sure this was going to work for the initiation; thought coming up with jokes wasn't that hard. They just had to be really mean towards Vikings.

"**What did the dragon say to the Viking?" **he said tiredly.

"**What?" **Toothless couldn't help his excitement.

"**Nothing, dragons don't talk to Vikings. They toast them" **

"**Hahahahahahaha!"**

"**Fish?" **Hiccup reminded him.

"**Yeah, yeah…" **said Toothless getting up before flying off to get said fish. Hiccup watched as his dragon flew faster than any young dragon he had ever seen, he was even graceful! He wished he could say the same about what came out the little dragon's mouth.

"I just can't get over how you do that!" said Fishlegs as Meatlug returned with another fish.

Fishlegs couldn't help to be fascinated when he heard Hiccup speak to Toothless. It sounded so natural on dragons, but when humans spoke Dragonese it actually sounded cool.

"I would trade it if it would make Toothless listen to me," Hiccup said before Toothless returned with another fish and then sat waiting for another joke.

"I guess," said Fishlegs looking at his bigger pile of fish.

"I think we had enough practice for today," Hiccup said as Meatlug returned with a mouthful of fish. He couldn't help feeling jealous of the connection between Fishlegs and his dragon. Meatlug actually liked Fishlegs, which got her a lot of scorn from the other dragons, but even Hiccup could see why. Fishlegs went out of his way to get her the best boulders he could, scratched that wonderful place below her many chins, and told her the best bed time stories with Gronckle princesses and such.

"**More jokes!" **said Toothless as he started eating some of the fish he had brought.

"**Not until the initiation test, then I will tell you the best jokes you ever heard" **Hiccup said trying to sound excited.

"**No, I want more jokes now!" **Toothless hadn't had such a good time in a long time. He thought it was demeaning for dragons to obey humans, but he was willing to make an exception as long as he could get a good joke out of it. Dragons loved jokes, especially when it involved them roasting or eating someone.

"**Sorry, no more" **Hiccup said as he placed their catch on a basket.

"**Not fair!" **Toothless circled around Hiccup's head screeching.

"Now you know how I feel," said Hiccup before picking the basket. Fishlegs wasn't too far behind.

"You did magnificent girl! There is a wonderful reward waiting for you at home" said Fishlegs behind Hiccup, which was getting to his nerves.

"**Tell me now!"** cried Toothless again.

"Who is the best dragon, you are! You are fantastic!" really Fishlegs? Hiccup wanted to say to his friend, stop pampering her so much!

"**I want more jokes!" **and then he bit Hiccup on the calf making him trip and land on the basket full of fish.

Hiccup spit sand as he stood up shakily. He had never felt so upset in his life. He could tell already that his face was turning red, and he was getting ready to give the loudest scream of his life. Toothless for once was a little afraid of Hiccup (not that he would ever admit it) and flew a little back from his so called trainer.

"You look just like your father," at hearing those words he deflated and turned to see his grandmother sitting on a small boulder, "interesting how that works, isn't?"

"Elder Gothi!" Fishlegs couldn't remember ever been happier to see her. He had been ready to grab Meatlug and take cover. He knew Hiccup was not pleasant when upset; he didn't want to imagine how he was like when furious.

"Grandma," Hiccup loved his father, but he didn't love everything about him, specially his temper.

"I don't see why you are upset about all of this. It's just an initiation, don't take it so seriously"

"How can you say that when I could end up banished?" there was almost no moment on his waking day that he didn't think of that and he had shared this with her. Every single time she told him not to worry, but didn't really give him a reason not to.

"Simply because life is more than initiation rituals and things like that. For example boys, can't you tell there is a big storm approaching? There is also a volcano about to erupt in an island not too far. These two events will change the shape of the land and the sea for a longer time than any Viking has ever lived"

"But they won't affect _us_ as greatly as the initiation," Fishlegs said trying to not sound annoyed.

"I understand what you mean grandma, but Fishlegs is right. The storm might stop the initiation test for a day or two, and the volcano's ash might reach us, but it won't affect us as much as the initiation itself"

"You don't know that boys," said Gothi with a disappointed tone, "but go ahead and train your young dragons. You will see what I mean when the time comes" with that she fixed her eyes far on the horizon, towards the location of said volcano, and where she could catch scent of the brewing storm.

It was until he got home and placed the basket with fish in the kitchen that he remembered his dream about the mountain that wasn't a mountain but a volcano that wanted to eat everything from some weeks ago. He wondered if his grandmother had mentioned the volcano before, but he couldn't recall. She probably did, he thought as he pulled some of the fish out of the basket and went to feed Thorch and Thornado who were curled in front of the fire.

He could tell Toothless was watching him from the rafters, he hadn't said anything since he had almost lost his temper. Hiccup wondered if that would have worked, but then shook his head to get rid of that idea.

"**Troubled little human?" **said Thornado after swallowing the fish Hiccup had brought him.

"**Not you too! You know my name Thornado, please use it" **he said to the dragon he disliked the least.

"**This is why that little dragon will never listen to you; you are just too soft with him" **said Thorch with a crackling snobbish laugh.

"**Would you like me to be like my father instead? I know you guys also don't like to get yelled at by him" **actually, no one did.

"**Our hearing is far superior to that of you humans; of course we don't like to get yelled at" **said Thorch turning his head away from Hiccup.

"**Then what do you suggest I do? Because if I get banished for sure Snotlout will become the heir and I can assure you things will be even worse for you"**

"**And you would be different how?" **asked Thornado.

"**I…" **Hiccup took a deep breath, **"I would do what I have been trying my whole life; I would try to understand you and make sure not just Vikings, but dragons too were happy"**

"**That's rich!" **laughed Thorch.

"**Boy, there is nothing you can do to change how things are" **said Thornado trying to hold his laughter. He didn't want to admit it but human younglings were rather cute, in a very stupid way, but cute nonetheless.

"**You don't know that! If I become chief, then everyone will have to listen to what I tell them even if they didn't want to"** that was how his father ran things, right? That, plus a lot of yelling.

"**Then your dear Viking tribe wouldn't be happy, and you would be overthrown, aaand Snotlout would probably end the chief"** Thornado thought it was only fair to share that bit of wisdom. The kid had a good heart, but a good heart didn't get you all you wanted.

"**Dammit!" **cursed Hiccup, **"of all the reptiles in this Thor forsaken island why did I have to get the three most useless in my house! Why do I have to be only one that is able to understand you! You know what? You are no better than the Vikings you keep antagonizing! You are selfish, mean and cruel!"**

"**You hurt my feelings"** said Thorch rolling his eyes at the boy.

"I had it!" said Hiccup before marching to his room and slamming the door close.

"**You can come down from there pipsqueak, he is gone" **said Thornado moving a little to the side for the small dragon to have a space to land.

"**I am not afraid of him!" **said Toothless indignantly as he landed.

"**Of course you aren't" **chuckled Thornado.

"**He is a stupid human" **said Toothless more intensely, but the older dragons could tell the little dragon was not prepared to face an angry human. Most hatchlings were told terrible stories about humans during the first days of life. It was no wonder dragons mistrusted humans so much.

"**The less stupid one in this island at least" **Thorch muttered, but the others heard him just fine.

"**Was that a compliment Thorch?" **said Thornado surprised, his companion was nothing but mean to the boy since he could remember.

"**Of course not! He is the son of that oversized idiot after all" **Thorch said curling tighter around himself.

"**No human can be trusted" **Toothless added his own piece of wisdom.

"**Just like no dragon should be trusted too," **Thornado added.

"**Are you agreeing with the kid that we are not that different from them? Because if you are I am ready to kick you out" **Thorch said as a little smoke came out of his nostrils.

"**Hiccup had a point. That's what makes him the less stupid human around" **Thornado said reminding Thorch what he had said not too long ago.

"**Whatever," **said Toothless also nesting in front of the fire, so what if his so called trainer was less stupid, he was still a human, **"at least he is good at telling jokes"**

"**You don't say?" **said Thornado trying to sound intrigued, though he wasn't surprised. He found the kid's comments, though most of the time sarcastic, very entertaining.

"**Share pipsqueak, we don't have all night" **Thorch said getting comfortable.

"**Alright, alright… Why did the Viking cross the road?" **

Hiccup was about to fall asleep when he heard the dragons laughing hysterically. They were probably laughing at him, he thought. He tried to get upset, but found he was too tired. Also, it also bothered him that his grandmother had compared him to his father when he had almost lost his temper. Though Thorch was right to say dragons had better hearing than humans, he had also seen him and Thornado flinch when his father shouted at them. What he saw at those times wasn't really pain from their sensible hearing, but more like fear and mistrust. He didn't want Toothless to look at him that way.

But it isn't like he is willing to be your friend either, he thought somberly. It would be nice if they at least had mutual respect for each other. He looked up at the ceiling wondering how that would work like, but couldn't really see it. Eventually he got lost in his thoughts only to be brought back by some scratching at his door.

"**I am tired!" **it was Toothless.

"**Go sleep with you new **_**friends**__. _**You seem to be having a very good time" **he said wrapping the blanket tighter around him. Like hell he was going to get up now that was comfortable and semi-warm.

"**Stop being such a baby and let me in!" **shouted Toothless.

"**I… I am not a baby!"** Hiccup sat up and glared at the lower part of the door. He could just imagine Toothless on the other side with his ridiculous toothless grin, mocking him.

"**Yes you are! You are also a sissy boy and a wimp! Now let me in!" **he scratched some more getting in Hiccup's nerves.

"**Oh, I will let you in!" **Hiccup said taking one of his blankets and walked to the door. He opened the door making sure to stay behind it and out of sight of the unsuspecting dragon.

"**See, that wasn't so hard little human, now… ARGH!" **suddenly Toothless found he was wrapped in Hiccup's blanket with the boy wrapping his arms tightly around him restricting his of movement, **"how dare you!"**

"**How dare I? You should be apologizing to me!" **said Hiccup doing his best to keep Toothless from turning and snapping his gums around his nose.

"**Never! You can't hold me like this forever! You need me for your stupid initiation thing!" **if he could just get one claw free he could scratch his way free, but Hiccup turned out to be stronger than he thought.

"**Like it matters to you, I might as well already start packing my things" **said Hiccup adjusting his hold on the dragon as he walked towards his bed. If he was going to listen to the jerk humiliate him, at least he could lie on bed and get a little rest, "**Because of you, I am going to end up banished and Snotlout will become chief, and he will make everyone's lives miserable. That also includes dragons by the way"**

"**Yeah, yeah, we all heard your little speech back there" **

"**Alright, have it your way" **said Hiccup before tightening his hold in the small dragon with one arm and then using the other to take off the belt he used to keep his pants up.

"**What are you doing?" **asked Toothless worriedly as he watched the human wrap said belt around him.

"**Making sure you are as miserable as I" **Hiccup said looking at his handy work. Toothless had become a white cocoon made of Hiccup's blanket and belt. Only the little dragon's head stuck out, and constantly tried to reach for one of Hiccup's limbs, or even better; his nose.

"**I knew you humans couldn't be trusted!"**

"**Yeah, yeah," **said Hiccup mockingly, **"I heard you say that before" **it felt good to do the mocking for once **"what if I tell you a joke? Would that make things better?"**

"**Alright," **Toothless answered immediately, at least he would not be bored and he would have more jokes to share with the older dragons.

"**How many dragons do you need to milk a yak?" **Hiccup started to say with a mischievous smile.

"**I don't like where this is going" **Toothless said before gulping audibly.

Right you are, Hiccup wanted to say before delivering the punch line that had the little dragon screeching with indignity. Oh, sweet revenge.

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Please leave a review, I would really appreciate it.


	9. The Price of Success is Always High

Chapter 9

Hiccup could feel his stomach doing all sorts of funny things. Sometimes he wondered if it was trying to escape. Did it suspect he was going to be embarrassed beyond comprehension? He didn't doubt it. He prayed to any god that could hear him that he was wrong. The time finally arrived for the day of the initiation. In this special day, Thor's Thursday, the whole village had arranged a great festival to celebrate their Vikingness and the soon to be Vikingness of their young.

Usually Hiccup loved this day more than any other. There was cheerful and drunken singing, family picnics, children playing, mothers gossiping like hens, old warriors retelling stories of their glory days and children listening intensely, and so much more. Tents were pitched in the sandy shore, tables set with food and drinks shared by everyone. Just like when he was little, he thought, nothing had changed… not everything, he remembered his mother was not there. Everyone had high spirits for exception of him and his father.

Stoick cleared his throat, tried to start a conversation, but couldn't find the words so instead he took a large gulp of his mug. Hiccup didn't blame him; he also had no idea what to say. They sat a little to the edge of the celebration. They had a little feast of their own, but even Stoick who had an incredible appetite barely touched it. His mother's cooking had been batter than any of this. Hiccup thought biting into a fruit pie.

"You shouldn't let your dragon eat so much before the initiation," Stoick finally found something to say, and for a good reason too, "he will have trouble flying"

"Toothless," Hiccup said pulling away the basket of fish from the dragon, "that's enough" he tried his most stern voice.

"**I am still not talking to you"** said Toothless but still reached to grab the basket back.

Good, Hiccup wanted to reply, but he had to be careful around his father.

"**Making fun of dragons; you humans should learn your place" **the small dragon said, though he said he wouldn't talk to him.

Stoick watched curiously as the little dragon screeched at his son, as if he was talking to him, but that would be impossible because dragons did not speak to Vikings. At least, this is what Stoick told himself even after his son rolled his eyes at the small dragon, as if he understood. After finishing their small, awkward picnic they both started to part their ways. Stoick had planned to search for his old friend Gobber who was probably still at the seagull egg eating contest. Hiccup wanted to find his friend Fishlegs, who was the only person as worried as him about the initiation.

"Good luck," said Stoick patting his son's shoulder.

"Thanks," Hiccup nodded before taking towards the rest of the celebration. His mind was tangled with worry and old memories. He needed to find Fishlegs before he went mad.

Toothless followed closely, still muttering small curses at the boy. Hiccup paid him no mind. Instead he found himself trying to remember how it was to enjoy this day. He remembered how his mother made his father sit him on his lap as she got their servings ready. His father, who had little to no experience with children, would only bounce him up and down, up and down, and that had been plenty of fun. His mother and father would laugh as he asked his father to bounce him a little higher.

His father used to say that he would be a great rider 'he should be starting as soon as possible' thought he was about five years old.

Then his mother would say 'he is too young, don't even think about it Stoick, or you will be sleeping outside with your dragons'

That had made all of them laugh. After that his parents would take him around the celebration to listen to the story tellers and sit on the backs of small dragons (with adult supervision, of course), and finally to watch the young trainees go through their initiation. He remembered his mother always betting with his father about who would be the best dragon show. His mother always won, and that always got a few laughs from the rest of the tribe.

"**What are you laughing at?**" Toothless sneered, was the kid coming up with more bad dragon jokes?

"**I just remembered something from when I was little," **Hiccup said returning to the present, **"well, little-er"**

He heard Toothless trying to hold back his laughter. He was supposed to still be upset at Hiccup for capturing him and telling him so many bad dragon jokes, but the little dragon found it hard to. Actually (and he would never tell the boy until much later in their lives) Hiccup had gained some (just a teen′sy-ween′sy little bit) of Toothless' respect.

"Oh girl, I am so sorry. I knew I shouldn't have fed you so many, but you just looked so happy!" Hiccup heard the clear distress behind his friend's voice as he reached the place where the Ingerman family usually had their picnics. Behind some tents he found Fishlegs rubbing Meatlug's even larger belly. Hiccup could tell at once his friend had been feeding her too much before the initiation, which would slow the boulder eating dragon even more.

"What am I going to do Hiccup! She won't be able to fly!" Fishlegs said as he rubbed Meatlug's belly faster, "I am going to get booted!"

"You are not," sighed Hiccup, "c'mon. Let's get a little far from here. We don't want to set anything on fire"

Fishlegs wasn't sure what Hiccup had in mind, but he was desperate. His family had been telling him that he was spoiling Meatlug too much, and so had Hiccup. He was glad his friend wasn't saying 'I told you so,' not that was anything Hiccup like. He and his dragon followed Hiccup until they were a little farther from the celebration.

"Here should be fine," said Hiccup, "now ask Meatlug to do some lava blasts to get rid of the excess rock"

"Why didn't I think of that! I am supposed to be Gronckle expert for Thor's sake!" he offered his friend a thankful smile, "c'mon girl, let's get some good lava shots"

Hiccup turned towards the sea and sat while Fishlegs did this. The day just felt so unreal.

"**How did you know?" **asked Toothless sitting next to him, though he kept his distance.

"**Fishlegs told me that Gronckles don't really have a shot limit as long as they have boulders to eat. It's common sense" **

"**Not so common for your friend" **Toothless teased as he looked back at Fishlegs and Meatlug. It made him kind of sick (more like disturbed) how close they were, but more that such a friendship could be found between a human and a dragon.

"**He was scared, he wasn't thinking clearly" **Hiccup buried his fingers in the sand. He remembered everything that Fishlegs had told him about Gronckles, not just because they were friends, but he also found the Gronckle to be a fascinating dragon. Though it wasn't fast or that big, it still had an incredible advantage when it came to fire power.

"**And you are?" **he looked at the boy intensely.

"**I am afraid so. Not that I really want to, but sometimes I wish I was like the rest of the tribe. I want to stop thinking so much and just let my emotions make all the decisions"**

"**Not that I like you human, actually I despise you, but I think you are fine the way you are"**

Hiccup knew when not question a compliment when he got one, so he just smiled and started to draw in the sand with a twig he had found. Where he sat Toothless watched the boy draw a small head that looked like his before started on the long body and wide wings. Dragons had little to no understanding of art, but Toothless was still surprised to see a very nice drawing of him in the sand. They sat there for a while as the sun reached the middle of the sky. It was a wonderful warm day, what a shame, Hiccup thought. It would have been perfect to do some dragon watching.

Finally the time arrived for the young dragon trainers to gather for their initiation test. Fishlegs and Hiccup stood side by side with their dragons watching the gathering crowd. They could easily spot their families and worried stares. Hiccup turned away when he made eye contact with his father.

He noted the rest of the teens from his tribe were rather quiet. The waiting crowd would cheer after Gobber presented the young trainer and their dragon but it wasn't enough to lift the anxiety around them. Even the Thorston twins seemed submissive as Gobber started to introduce them and their two headed dragon. Astrid stood proudly with her head held high, which her dragon mimicked perfectly. Snotlout stood as firm as a roman soldier, though Hookfang seemed much less attempt as he sharpened his claws with one another. When Gobber got to Fishlegs he raised a questioning brow at the boy who shrugged unsure of what to say. Meatlug looked a lot happier and seemed even a little lighter (as light as a Gronkle could be) and ready to start. This was not something that Gobber would have expected of the Ingerman boy and his dragon.

Then he made it to Hiccup and Toothless.

"So, the little demon decided to cooperate?" Gobber stared down at the small dragon with mistrust.

"**Miss me?" **Toothless purred at the large Viking who visibly shuddered.

"More like hates me and can't wait to humiliate me" Hiccup said when he caught sight of Toothless smug smile.

"That's the spirit!" Gobber patted him on the back almost sending him tumbling to the sand.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence. I could have never done it without you wonderful advice" Hiccup deadpanned as he straightened.

"You are welcome," then he turned to the waiting tribe, "PRESENTING THE HEIR OF THE TRIBE HICCUP HORRENDOUS THE III AND HIS DRAGON… ehm… TOOTHLESS!"

There was an awkward silence in the crowd before someone started to clap politely, and soon the rest followed. Hiccup knew it was no easy for his tribe to be somewhat silent, but he thought it was ridiculous how well he could hear them from where he stood. They whispered (or so they called it) about the type of dragon he had gotten. Many quoted Snotlout about it being a mongrel and how small and shameful it was.

Hiccup tried his best not to turn red with embarrassment. He kept telling himself that he had foreseen this, but when and if Toothless showed what he could do he would shut them all up. Though he wasn't looking directly at his father, he could feel the weight of his gaze on him. He wanted to shout at him not to worry. He would do all he could. He would not shame him and his mother's memory.

Toothless could hear them also just fine, but decided that he didn't care. He kept on blowing his ever so perfect smoke rings their way before flapping up and then standing behind Hiccup's back, claws set firmly on his shoulders.

"**This is boring; you are really failing on delivering you part of the deal. I want an adventure,"**

"**Once I become an official Viking we will have so many adventures you won't know how to handle it all"**

"**So you keep saying"**

The initiation test started. The first tasks involved simple commands for the dragons to do things like going, shooting, circling and so on.

Soon the air was filled with shouting commands of the young trainers and the screeches of their dragons.

Well, here was the moment of truth.

"Go," he said in his soft breathless voice.

He felt a weight lift off his shoulders and he realized Toothless had gone when he told him to go. His eyes were almost as wide as everyone else's as they watched the small dragon speed into the skies faster than they had ever seen a small dragon fly.

"What is that sound?" he heard some say. It was somewhat like a whistle, yet it wasn't. Then Hiccup remembered that first morning when he talked to Toothless. He knew what was coming.

"Plasma Blast!" he shouted as hard as he could before the little dragon released a swift and inconceivably straight purple fire blast into the sky, which exploded greatly in the form of a ring (much like Toothless' smoke rings) and expanded until it eventually faded away. It was beautiful, and deadly without doubt.

"Now Toothless!" Hiccup took a step forwards and looking up with smile larger than anyone had ever seen he shouted again, "Dive Bomb!"

The small dragon wrapped his wings around himself and dropped straight down as it filled its mouth with another blast. He dropped so fast that everyone was gasping when he didn't show any sign of stopping. The waves were so close now, everyone stopped breathing.

"Now!" he shouted and just in time Toothless released his blast and then opened his wings, turned his body horizontally and flew directly to land before Hiccup.

"**You owe me a life of adventure, lobster every night, all the jokes I want, and to never ever tell another bad dragon joke again" **the small dragon said as Hiccup kneeled before him.

"**That's quite the price for one show" **he whispered aghast. Never did he imagine things would go like this.

"**Just wait until this is over. We will see who trained who" **the dragon chuckled, though not as darkly as Hiccup had heard him before.

"**You are absurd" **but he said this with a proud smile. He had a wonderful dragon.

Whatever was Toothless's response, it was drowned by cheers from the crowd that rushed to them. Stoick was the first to reach them, he opened his mouth, tried to form some words but then shut his mouth again. Then he took his son in his arms in a mighty embrace.

"Can't bre…breathe"

"Sorry!" he dropped him immediately, "you… you did great!"

He could hear the agreement coming from everyone else around.

"Get back the lot of you!" shouted Gobber, "the initiation isn't over yet. You too Stoick, yeah you heard me right. Now get back!" then he turned to Hiccup, "get a move on Hiccup, you can celebrate all you want later" and his smile was encouraging.

He nodded and turned away from the crowd and his father. His face was starting to hurt, he realized before he tried to stop smiling. Instead, a crooked smile remained.

Snotlout wanted to smash that smile to pieces. Hiccup and his mongrel dragon had taken all the attention of the tribe. All eyes were on Hiccup, not Snotlout; the scrawny kid, not him who was so big and strong. He had detested Hiccup before because he was a small obstacle for him to become the chief. His father told him constantly that they would make quick work of the fishbone when the time arrived but now it was all different. He had to see him fall.


	10. Dragons' Rage and Vikings' Envy

Chapter 10

Astrid stared in amazement as the rest of the tribe returned to their places after rushing to Hiccup and his small dragon. Gobber threaded who ever dared get close with his hooked hand. All that work to be outshone by no other than Hiccup. She still had trouble understand what she had just seen. It was impossible, she kept telling herself, it just couldn't be. This was the moment that was supposed to change her life. She was supposed to outshine everyone. She was supposed to show her worth, but now she was worth the same as the other trainees. She wasn't anyone especial.

"**You worry too much"** Stormfly nudged her head gently across Astrid's arm, hoping some of her meaning got to her.

"This isn't over" said Astrid to herself. There was still a remaining part of the initiation. She still had a chance. She turned to her dragon and said on determination "we are going to be the best at this Stormfly, you got to show them that there is no better dragon than you, nor a better trainer than me"

Stormfly was speechless. There was no way she could be any faster than that little mongrel from one moment to the next. Maybe she could carry more fish, but she was unsure if that was the smart thing to do. She would be slower too if she carried more weight than what she was used to.

"You are going to be the next chief's dragon Hookfang. You are not going to let that mongrel show you off, right? I mean, he is a mongrel and you are a pure breed Monstrous Nightmare. There isn't a more ferocious dragon than you"

"**Of course there isn't you idiot" **said Hookfang glaring at the small mongrel dragon not too far **"I am going to wipe that smug look from his face with my claws until nothing is left but bleeding gaping wounds"**

Snotlout liked what he heard, and loved the way Hookfang glared at the mongrel.

"You could always make it look an accident," he suggested.

"**Stupid human, I already knew that"**

"Get your dragons set!" shouted Gobber finishing the small break, "the fishing competition is about to start!"

"**Get ready," **said Hiccup but Toothless was already waiting for the signal.

"Go!" shouted Gobber before the dragons took off towards the sea.

All dragons took off towards the waters looking for the best places to fish.

"Ehm… Hiccup?" said Fishlegs looking at him worriedly.

"What is it?" asked Hiccup looking for Toothless among the larger dragons.

"He is still here," said Fishlegs point at Toothless who was still sitting in the beach.

Hiccup froze when he saw Toothless just sitting there. Soon he could hear the whispers of the tribe behind him, and once again the worried stare from his father.

"**Why aren't you going?" **he whispered hurriedly, **"I thought we had a deal!"**

"**That was for before, this is now" **Toothless chuckled.

"**What do you want" **Hiccup did his best to keep his voice down, but it was hard to when he started panic creeping in.

"**I want… hmm… let me think" **the small dragon tapped his chin with his claw in thought.

"**There isn't time for that! Just go and I will give you whatever you want!" **he realized most of the other dragons were out of sight.

"**Do you think me stupid? Humans can't be trusted; we have to set the deal first" **

"**Fine! Just hurry!" **Hiccup didn't bother to keep his voice down this time. Thankfully they were far enough from the crowd not to be heard.

"**I want my own room" **

"**Wha…" **Hiccup sighed, **"fine! Now go!"**

"**I am not finished," **said Toothless turning to look at him mischievously, **"I also want your cat"**

"**Absolutely not, leave Fiddlesticks out of this, and I won't take a no for an answer" **he was desperate, but not so as to sacrifice his cat.

"**You are not in position to negotiate," **Toothless sneered. He couldn't believe he cared that much for that stupid cat.

"**And you have no right to ask for my pet" **Hiccup said matter of fact.

"**I can ask for whatever I want" **he actually didn't care much for the cat, but he was truly bothered that the kid was so protective of it.

"**Then there is no deal." **Like hell he was going to let his own dragon push him around. He was the trainer, he reminded himself, not the other way around.

"**A chicken then, all to myself" **Toothless said knowing Hiccup wouldn't give up the cat. He was one stubborn kid.

"**Alright, but I will be the one to put it out of its misery, now go" **Hiccup could no longer see the other dragons. His heart felt as if it was about to stop.

"**One more thing," **said Toothless thought he had no idea what to ask for. He just wanted to see the kid fret.

"**What?!" **Hiccup threw his arms in the air not believing he had gotten the most selfish dragon in the whole Viking archipelago.

"**You owe me one big favor that I can call on whenever I want, no questions asked" **Toothless had to admit that sounded pretty good, though he had just thought it in the spot.

"**Fine" **and he knew it was something very stupid to do, to make a deal like that with a dragon of all things. Dragons could not be trusted, but he did. Why? Because he was desperate, and Toothless knew it to, he bet. As he watched him leave as fast as Thor's thunder he wondered if any of this would be worth it at the end. He surely hoped so.

It wasn't long, just as Stormfly was returning, that Toothless returned too.

Astrid was happy with their catch, which was at least double than what Toothless had brought.

"Good, now go girl" she said before Stormfly took off again. Then she heard a retching sound from Hiccup's side and watched as Toothless regurgitated more fish, doubling what he had brought originally.

"**Do you really have to… ugh… that's disgusting"** she noticed that Hiccup was moving his lips, but he wasn't saying anything she recognized. She realized she had actually had been hearing this through the whole initiation, but hadn't paid any mind to it. She thought it was one of the dragons.

He is speaking to it, she realized in astonishment, and watched as Toothless talked back to him.

"**The point is to bring the most fish, isn't?" **

"**Yeah, but this is still disgusting"**

"**Whatever"**

She watched as Hiccup rolled his eyes at the small dragon before he left. Then, he realized he was been watched by her. Immediately he turned as white as paper and looked away. She was right; he had been talking to it! Was that how he managed to make him do all those things? Was he cheating? And when she asked herself that she became enraged because not just was he breaking one of their laws (which weren't many) but also doing it to outperform everyone, more importantly her!

She had well in mind to walk up to Gobber in that moment and tell him when she heard multiple dragons screeching. She turned and felt her breath get stuck in her lungs. What she saw was the result of dragon resentment.

Toothless was already on his way back with more fish, wondering if he would be able to add more things to his deal with the boy. He doubted it, but it was worth a try. Maybe he had gone too far with the cat thing, though he was still curious about the taste.

"**So, if it is the mongrel. Is that all you caught? Not that I am surprised"**

"**Oh, it's you; let me slow down so you see how pathetically slow you are"**

"**You have no place here!"**

"**Of course I don't. I don't bend to a human's will as easily as you. I actually get something out of it"**

"**You are a disgrace for all dragons, you shouldn't even exist!"**

"**Just because everyone keeps saying I am mongrel it doesn't mean I am"**

"**You are not going to tell me you believe that kid's stupid story; that you are a rare type of dragon called the Dark Wrath"**

"**Don't be daft" **Toothless chuckled** "now if you excuse me, I got a competition to win"**

"**No, you don't!" **sneered Hookfang before snapping his jaws around on the fishes Toothless was carrying and tearing away.

"**HEY!" **cried Toothless with indignation.

"**What are you going to do Brainless!" **mocked Hookfang.

"**You brainless bastard, you will pay for that!" **

"**You got to catch me first!" **and so the chase started.

Hookfang laughed maniacally out of excitement and fear. He knew the little dragon was fast and his shot strong, but he was still bigger and stronger. It had been a long time since he had felt the thrill of the hunt. A few moments later he felt the gum filled bite of the mongrel. He couldn't believe it hurt as much as it did.

"**Let go shrimp!" **with a kick, he sent the small dragon crashing into the water below. Hiccup lost all of his fish on the fall but that didn't seem to matter anymore because he was furious

"**I AM GOING TO SKIN YOU ALIVE!" **and then he was shooting plasma blasts at the Nightmare who got hit in the arse quite badly.

This threw the whole plan out of the window, because now Hookfang was also furious. He had been trying to draw the small dragon closer to the beach so the stupid humans would see the mongrel out of control.

"**You! How dare you!" **and of course the natural response of the Nightmare after been hit with powerful fire blast on the bum was to engulf himself in flames (if you could, wouldn't you?).

From that point there was no return. This all came from very simple actions. Hookfang fired at Toothless, and Toothless of course evaded it. The blast went straight to Stormfly who was returning with a large catch. In defense she shot one of her incredibly hot blasts which canceled out Hookfang's, but in the way she also turned the catch she had been carrying to ashes; which of course didn't set well with her.

"**You idiots!"** she screeched as she turned in the air and shot her spikes at them.

Toothless and Hookfang did their best to evade the hit but they were not fast enough. Hookfang got hit on the leg (the same one Toothless had bitten), and Toothless' side got scratched as he tried to evade it. Of course, the two male dragons who were already rather furious, didn't take this well. There was cursing, scratching, a lot of fire blasting and it was contagious.

As more dragons started to return with their catch, they too became caught in the fight. They were not far enough to go unnoticed, or close enough to hear their trainers shout commands at them. It was complete and utter chaos.

Toothless was doing great, even though they were very dire circumstances. With his size, and agility almost no one could touch him. A few were lucky to, but not many, and none were actually serious. He was having so much fun that he had forgotten his deal with Hiccup. He wouldn't get a room of own (not that he ever was going to,) nor the chicken (though not until a few months later), and no big favor (luckily for Hiccup).

Hiccup felt his throat start to hurt. He could barely shout anymore but still tried. Everyone was now in panic, just shouting as hard as they could to be heard but it was all in vain.

But there was a voice that could not be unheard.

"STOP!" Stoick the Vast marched into the shore where the kids were and shouted in his meanest, loudest, and rougher of voices "COME HERE AT ONCE YOU SACK OF USELESS SCALES!" Everyone froze and stared at him in awe and terror; humans and dragons alike. They had never seen the chief so furious before. His face was as red as his Viking blood, his fist shaking with the need to hurt something, and his breathing erratic though he was trying to bring it under control.

Needless to say, the dragons returned immediately to their trainers. Their heads hung low the whole time. Even Toothless didn't dare look at Hiccup as he went to stand by his side.

Minutes passed and no word was said. It was the quietest the tribe had ever been. Finally, one of the bravest Vikings of the tribe dared to break that silence.

"Stoick" Gobber said placing a hand on his friend's shoulder, "it… well you know"

Their tradition, Stoick remembered, they had to follow the tradition. His eyes went over every single teen in the beach. All of them were still so young, and then his eyes fell upon his one and only son. He was looking down at his dragon, his disheveled hair covering his face so he couldn't see his expression. He heard something like a whisper coming from him and the small dragon was giving him all his attention.

"Stoick?" Gobber called him again.

"Yeah, right" he said turning away from the children and walking towards the rest of the tribe, "will the council come with me now"

He called before said council followed him farther down the beach. The silence returned, heavier even than before. Hiccup whispered some more in Dragonese, not exactly directed to the dragon, but try to calm down.

"**He wouldn't do it, I mean, not the whole lot of us, right? He is the chief, he has to be smart. He has to give us another chance. It was all bad luck. He knows that. Also, I am his son. He wouldn't really banish me. He is my father and I am his only son. Maybe he will make me get another dragon and take the training all over again, but he wouldn't banish me. He is upset, yes, but banishing? What a stupid choice of word. It's more like a death sentence"**

As the same words started to run again through his mouth, a storm approached at a fast pace. The warm day was gone, and was replaced instead with dark clouds and the far off sound of Thor's thunder.

"Hiccup?" Fishlegs called his friend.

Hiccup woke up as if he had been in a trance. He saw his father returning with the council. He was no longer angry. Actually, his face held no expression, like a true warrior. The teenagers gathered together with their dragons.

"I want everyone to remember this day," Stoick started, "I want you all to remember that I take no pride whatsoever on what am I about to say" he took a deep breath "Today, I declare all of this young men and women to be unfit of belonging to the Hairy Hooligan tribe. They have shown that they are incapable of an essential task to belong to this tribe which is to train a young dragon. For such reason they all will be banished as this tribe has no place for them"


	11. Grey Rain for a Grey Day

Chapter 11

Thor's thunder shook the sea and the cliffs before releasing a torrential rain upon the Hairy Hooligans. The drops were fast, cold and stung where they hit the skin. In a few minutes they were all wet and cold, though the feeling inside them was much colder. Never did they think the day would end like this. They had seen blood run like rivers and watched their friends die. But it was all good because they were Vikings. The blood was mostly that of their enemies and their friends who died went to Valhalla. But this was something else. They had no idea what awaited the young warriors.

Small children tried to ask their parents what the chief meant by banished. Surely their older siblings, or cousins would be in trouble but they would return home after a while, right?

Parents shushed their children and tuck them closer to them, trying to protect them as much as they could from the rain. Mothers and Fathers looked at the wet faces of their children; some missing tooth or two, others with countless freckles, and others with bird nest for hair. They shuddered at the thought of never seeing them again. Banishment… Father Odin, what did they do to deserve to watch ten of their young leave in such horrible conditions? The sea would surely eat them before night fall.

The trainees stood frozen, not feeling the rain or the wind that raged against them. It couldn't be right. It just couldn't. All of them held confusion on their faces as they tried to understand what they had just heard. As it dawned on them that what they had heard was not part of a dream, helplessness took over their very souls. Helplessness, a feeling they hadn't felt in public since they were very small, or still when they woke up from nightmares that threatened to tear cries and sobs from their throats.

Stoick froze when he saw those young faces and paled overwhelmed at the despair that he felt. This was not something he could fight off with his massive strength or sword. Then his eyes rested on his son who was still looking down at his dragon. He couldn't see his son's face, but that was a good thing, he thought desperately. He didn't need to see his tears now, he needed to stay strong and follow their tradition, their laws, if he didn't he didn't have the right to call himself the chief. The tribe was first, he kept telling himself.

"Today, it's truly a sad day," continued Stoick the Vast, "I never imagined that I would have to banish my own son"

Toothless looked up and watched as a feeling he couldn't describe crept into Hiccup's face as his father kept talking to the trainees and the rest of the tribe.

"As it would be unfair to send you out in this weather, you will be allowed to stay one more night in our tribe but once the storm is gone your departure will be arranged"

Many sighed and commented on the wise mercy their leader had. Not everyone thought the same. Toothless could tell who didn't see the honor on their chief's words. He clearly heard Hiccup clench his teeth as the feeling across Hiccup's face became clear to him. He had seen him angry, upset, and sad but never had he seen him so…

"Oh hail our kind leader!" he shouted bringing everyone's attention to him "hail him as he sends his own son into banishment to die because he thinks he has to follow every single stupid tradition of his stupid tribe!"

"Hiccup…" Stoick whispered in shock.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" He was angry but there was more to it as he sneered, "Are you so close minded to not see that this is useless?! Nothing will be achieved of this!"

Hiccup looked up and glared at his father in contempt, daring him to contradict him.

"If _you _can't see it," he said in a more stable voice but everyone could hear him just fine, "then this is probably a blessing in disguise. Who wants to belong to this _stupid_ tribe anyways?"

Stoick felt as if his heart had been ripped out of his chest.

Ash started rain along with the heavy drops. This woke everyone and soon they were all rushing to their homes. Stoick looked at his son hoping to hear him say something else to mend him, but the boy just glared at him with those green eyes that were so much like Valhallarama's. Slowly, he turned and left him and the other trainees in the now grey rain.

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Not too far a humongous, monstrous, gigantic, terrifying, and absolutely evil Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus crawled out of the mouth of the volcano he had been sleeping in for hundreds of years. He took a look at himself and roared in delight. He knew sleeping in that volcano was a good idea. His scales were red like the lava that had kept him warm for so long. His name was more than fitting.

It was time; he thought in delight, his companion was so close now. The creature spread its wings, so large that they could block the sun and took off high into the sky stretching its aching and still sleeping muscles before diving down into the sea and swallowing all it could find. Whales, sharks, calamari, fish schools, all was his appetizer. It swam in the storm towards a small island not too far.

At the same time, an older Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus rode the large waves of the storm. He too had caught the scent of one of his kind. He had travelled far, and was curious to see if this companion would be a good chat or a very fulfilling meal.

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Hiccup felt sick as all the air was punched out of his gut. In a small part of the back of his mind he was thankful he hadn't eaten too much, otherwise he would be throwing up right there and then. His lips were parted as he tried to intake breath, but it was hard to do while Snotlout had his fist still against the soft skin of his abdomen and organs.

"It's your entire fault!" Snotlout held him up by his tunic and spat the words on his face.

"Let him go!" sounded a strained voice before Snotlout was knocked away. Hiccup fell on his behind and looked up to see Fishlegs facing Snotlout. He watched as his friend raised his fist shakily, awkwardly, and so very Fishleg's like. At that moment he couldn't remember ever seen Fishlegs hit someone.

"That's enough!" Astrid pushed in between them and pushed them apart.

"But it's his fault!" Snotlout pointed an accusatory finger at him.

"How would you know?" Fishlegs said, his face turning red, "Your dragon was at the fight too!"

"It's not my fault his mongrel is jealous of…" but he was cut off by no other than Hiccup.

"Toothless has nothing to be jealous of" deadpanned Hiccup as he stood up. He left them speechless and started his way back to the village, for the last time.

Fishlegs looked at the rest of the banished teens. All of them were pale as the ash that was still falling with the rain. He imagined he looked much the same. Then his eyes rested on Astrid who was watching Hiccup march away. Hiccup was dragging his feet, he realized, he had never seen Hiccup drag his feet no matter in how much trouble they were. Not when they had almost blown the smithy, not when they tried and failed terribly at teaching the Garden dragons how to deliver the mail (a lot of excrement in that one), not when they hunted for trolls and always returned empty handed, not even when they got yelled at for dragon watching.

"My dragon is better," he heard Snotlout mutter before glaring at the rest so they would agree with him. However, only Dogsbreath did as he was not smart enough to realize what the rest already had. If they were all banished, Snotlout would not become chief. He held no power over them anymore. One by one (for exception of the twins) started their way back to the village where they would start to pack their things; banishment after lasted a very long time, or so they hoped.

Hiccup made it home, where Toothless had already pulled some of his things out to take with him. He was slightly surprised at the effort the little dragon was placing into this. His sketchbooks, some clothes, his best knife (just right for his size), and the money he had been saving over time (how did he know how to find that?), and other things Hiccup was attached to.

"**We are going to the mainland, right?" **said Toothless stopping at foot of the bed when he noticed Hiccup had arrived.

"**We?" **Hiccup hadn't thought the little dragon was interested on going with him into banishment.

"**Yeah! You are not allowed near the islands, so we are going to the mainland. I can't wait! We are going to have so many adventures"**

"**I just got banished and all you care about is adventures?" **he tried to sound outraged, but he wasn't that surprised. He knew Toothless was as selfish as he was small and fast.

"**You said it was a stupid tribe!" **Toothless had been impressed at Hiccup's outburst.

"**But this is, or at least it was my home" **Hiccup said before he sat on his bed and started to sort through the things Toothless had gathered.

Toothless tilted his head curiously, wondering why humans were so hard to understand.

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Stoick didn't want to go home, so he sat late at the main hall drinking with his oldest friend. They didn't really speak, they didn't need to. Still, his friend was Gobber and not speaking was not just part of his repertory.

"So… Hiccup got upset?" he gave a dry chuckle, "you don't see that every day"

Stoick said nothing as he tried to forget his son's accusatory eyes.

"I mean, I am all for the traditions but it's going to really hard for a young boy like him out there. Maybe just this time…"

"No," said Stoick definitely, "I have to adhere to our laws and traditions as much as everyone else. If I didn't, what kind of chief would I be?"

"One that doesn't throw his only son out his home, plus another nine kids who barely understand where babies come from?" some of those kids really need to be talked to about that before they left.

Stoick shook his head in denial. He just couldn't break their traditions, especially one as important as that of the initiation, "If I had just made him go back and get another dragon…"

"Oh, I would have loved that but I don't think that little demon was problem" said Gobber before he took a large gulp of his mug. The mead that night just wasn't strong enough.

"What was it then? Because if he had gotten a monstrous nightmare then I would have been able to help him train it and this wouldn't have happened"

"Even if he had gotten a Monstrous Nightmare, that wouldn't have fixed the problem, though let's not call it a problem because it really isn't"

"You are making no sense" Stoick stared at his friend incredulously.

"There is something that you have to know Stoick" said Gobber in a serious tone "your son…" he paused dramatically, "… is not normal"

"What?" his mead was almost spilled when he turned abruptly to glare at his friend.

"You son is not like any of those other kids. He is smart, and I mean really smart. He thinks… how did he put it? Oh yes! He thinks outside of the box"

"What is that even supposed to…"

"He sees things we don't see, improvements on things we have done the same for generations" and there was so much more, but he thought it was better to start with this. His friend couldn't keep expecting Hiccup was going to change eventually.

"How isn't that a problem?" Stoick all but slammed his hands on the table.

"Because he is usually right" Gobber said before he took another large gulp. He knew he didn't need to say more as his friend stared down at his hands set flat on the table. He could almost hear him debate with himself. He was probably realizing just how different his son was. Hiccup was a curious child in more than one sense. In all the years he had been training kids to become Hooligans he had never seen one with as much curiosity for the world as Hiccup. Part of him thought that travelling the world would actually be good for the kid, that is, if he was at least a little able to defend himself.

Gobber really hoped his friend realized this too in time.


	12. The Following Day was an Even Worse Day

Chapter 12

That night Astrid couldn't sleep. The storm was still raging outside, howling like un-restful spirits that shook her home. Still, however horrible the storm was she still hoped it would last forever but it was impossible. She had already packed and said her goodbyes to her family. None of them blamed her, or even her dragon. She turned to face the wall as silent tears started to fall. Her father, once everyone had gone, had held her in a warm embrace. He told her she would be fine because she was strong and brave. She would be just fine because she was a Hofferson. She would be fine because she was his daughter. Then, for the first time in her life she saw him shed tears. She didn't think she had ever felt so loved before.

Eventually she fell asleep into troubled sleep.

By the fire, two dragons woke startled by a terrifying sound that only dragons could hear. It was the sound of laughter of large dragon they hadn't heard of in a long time.

"**He is here"** Stormfly lifted her head and sneered.

"**It's time to leave," **said a Nadder named Tempest, Asmund the Astute Hofferson's dragon.

"**Let's go wake them up" **Stormfly stood up.

"**Don't be ridiculous, they will just slow us down" **said Tempest as he started towards the door.

Stormfly started to say something but then shut her beak closed when she saw Tempest hesitate. They were dragons, they were meant to only care for themselves; she reminded herself. It hadn't been so long since she had come to live here with that girl, yet she found it very hard to leave.

"**Maybe they can win" **she offered.

Tempest who had been like an older brother to her until then laughed, but very quietly; even she knew it was ridiculous.

"**We are all going to die," **said Tempest as he went to settle in front of the fire again.

Stormfly also sat before the fire. Neither of them was going to leave. If there was a chance, they would take that chance with those silly humans.

Not all dragons thought like this, or so they liked to think. Many left their homes in the middle of the night, a few did fly away from Berk, but only until they reached the next island from where they could watch what would happen next. Many others went to the woods and hid there, waiting to see what would happen. A handful stayed in their homes, acting as if they had heard nothing.

The following morning Gobber with a raging hangover started his way towards the beach to see if anything could be salvaged. His face hurt from having fallen sleep on it, all do to waiting on Stoick's answer. When he had woken up he had found his friend also sleeping on his face. He didn't bother to wake him up. Stoick was not very pleasing to deal with in the morning, especially after a long night of drinking.

He reached the cliff that oversaw the beach and all thoughts of the night before were gone. Actually, the only thing he could think of was how very dead they were, all of them. He wasted no time going to Stoick, who tried to punch his lights out but stumbled thanks to his hangover.

"There is a monstrous, gigantic, terrifying, and absolutely evil dragon on our beach!" shouted Gobber as the chief covered his ears the best he could, but impossible to fully shut him out, "are ya listening to me?!"

"I am trying not to," grumbled Stoick.

"For Thor's sake!" shouted Gobber before dragging his friend out. Stoick complained all the way loudly and foully which turned even worse when he was struck by the morning's light. It was a bright new day and he hated it with fervor.

"Here…" he turned to look from the sky to where Gobber was pointing and was speechless.

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"Fishlegs! Sweetheart!" his mother burst into the room screaming.

"Please tell me it was all a dream," he said sitting up straight.

"It wasn't, but you must come quickly. Everyone is been called to the great hall. It's an emergency!"

Then Fishlegs heard it. The war drums were booming. How did he miss that?

The whole village crammed into the great hall, many complaining of the very early hour of the day. Fishlegs tried to see if he could see Hiccup, but there was no sign of him. Before he could ask if someone had seen him the chief started to speak, and his words turned their world upside down.

Someone started to laugh; they all turned to look at Spitelout, "scared of a little large dragon Stoick? Don't you think you are delaying the inevitable? Just slay the beast and let's get this day over with"

"This is no simply a large dragon!" shouted Stoick, "if it was that easy I would have taken care of it myself!"

"It was humongous!" emphasized Gobber "monstrous!"

"I believe you want to say Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus" interrupted Gothi.

"A what?" many of the Hooligans chorused.

"A Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus; a dragon the size of a mountain that could end this whole village with just one bite and the island in one afternoon" she said waving her hand fluently "you know; a dragon that can kill a whole sea if it wanted to; an untamable, un-killable monster from the depths of Helheim bred by Loki himself"

"We are not just going to lie down and die!" someone shouted in outrage.

"I am not saying that," the old woman chuckled, "you see, this dragon has lived such a long time it also has grown very bored. If it had wanted to this village would have been done in the early hours of the day, while we all slept. Its waiting to see what we are going to do"

"Because it's bored?" Stoick asked baffled.

"What are we supposed to do? Dance and sing for it!" someone shouted.

"This is outrageous!" many echoed.

"Yes, we are rather lucky" said Gothi as if she hadn't heard them, "after here it will just go and destroy everything in the Viking archipelago nonstop"

"We are still dead then?" asked Gobber.

"Not entirely, we can't kill it but we can try to convince it not to kill us" Gothi said.

"How is that possible?" asked Stoick feeling lost more and more. Everyone else I the great hall felt about same.

"We talk to it" Astrid Hofferson from the crowd.

"Right girly" Gothi said with a smile, but then the whole hall went crazy.

"But no one here speaks Dragonese!"

"Hiccup can speak Dragonese," someone whispered.

"It's forbidden!"

"Hiccup can speak Dragonese!" the same person said a little louder.

"We are all doomed!"

"No one has spoken Dragonese in this island for generations!"

"I said Hiccup can speak Dragonese!" then he shouted and everyone stopped. They all turned to look at Fishlegs. His face was red with the strain of his shout.

"What did you say?" asked Gobber when he realized Stoick was at loss of words.

"Hiccup?" asked Stoick.

Hiccup had also heard the war drums, but he thought since was banished that it didn't matter if he went. So he sat on his bed, his belongings all set in a neat bundle for travelling. Toothless was eating his breakfast in the kitchen along with the other dragons. He didn't think much of their silence that particular morning. His mind was a little busy trying to figure out what he would do once they reached the mainland. He had to make sure he was still able to provide for Toothless.

"_Hiccup!"_

He thought about going to a smithy. He was young, but he was sure that once they saw his skills they would let him work there. They might not like Toothless, as dragons had an even worse reputation at the mainland, but maybe he could keep the little fiend hidden since he was small.

"_Hiccup!"_

Was someone calling him?

"Hiccup!"

Yes! He stood up. It sounded like Fishlegs. It was probably time to go. He sighed as he picked his bag and went to the door. Toothless followed him wordlessly, which he found rather curious. He wondered if it had finally dawned on the little dragon that they would not be returning to their safe, warm home anymore.

"HICCUP!"

When he opened his door he found the entire tribe rushing to his door chorusing his name. He wondered if he should run but he didn't decide fast enough. Soon they were all at his door. The first to arrive picked him up easily and then ran with him under his arm as if he wasn't any different than a sack of flour.

"Hurry!" everyone shouted. Hiccup wondered in the craziness of all that if they wanted him gone that badly, then where was his father? When the large man brought him to the great hall where the tribe's council and his father were seated, he guessed it wasn't that simple.

8888

By midday Hiccup was on his way to the beach on his own still trying to wrap his mind around what he needed to do. He should have said no, he thought. He was banished, he could have just said no and then… then they would all be dead. He took a deep breath. Weren't they dead anyways? So what was the point of this! It was hopeless. The moment he heard Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus he knew they were done for. His mother had told him of this dragon as a child. It was big and mean, and it was the deadliest of all dragons. One hadn't been spotted in hundreds of years to the point they were thought to be a legend, but like his grandmother said; all legends had an origin.

Finally he made it to the cliff and saw the monstrosity that he had to convince to not eat his village. He was amazed at the color of its bright red scales that shone like rubies under the warm sun; the claws that could take down at least five houses with one swipe; the spikes on its back that resembled coral formations (Seadragonus made sense now), the powerful long jaw filled with fangs the size of… He stopped himself. He had to stop being so amazed when he should be running back and tell everyone to pack.

Thought it was a little too late to run. The creature that was as large as a mountain had all six mean eyes set on him and a cruel smile filled with remains of creatures it had eaten recently. He could tell it had been waiting for someone to show up. His grandmother had been right, it was terribly bored.

When it spoke, it took Hiccup by surprise. It was a cruel voice as he had expected, but it also sounded sophisticated and refined. He wondered if maybe he could truly talk him into leaving them alone.

"**Well, this is unexpected," **the dragon started with a slightly surprised tone** "I was expecting an army of Vikings ready to try (and the key word was try) to kill me off, but they have sent instead a little boy, or have you come on your own? Why do I bother to ask? You are probably peeing your pants right at this moment. They probably thought they could send a small sacrifice that would…"**

"**I am not a sacrifice" **Hiccup interrupted before it thought of eating him once that sentence was finished.

"**Are you not? Of course you aren't! A human that can speak Dragonese; it has been too long since I haven't eaten one of those. You all taste the same, mind you, but having a good chat during a meal is always welcomed when you are me"**

"**I imagine, your kind lives for thousands of years and a few in numbers"**

"**And smart! Well, you just bought yourself some time before your inevitable death. Tell me little human, have we met before?" **he felt like he had, thought it was improbable.

"**I doubt it" **Hiccup tried to laugh but he remembered a dream from some months ago, **"I would remember meeting something as big as you"**

"**I am not a thing" **the dragon sneered, blowing the scent of the putrefaction in its jaws towards him. Hiccup held his breath before for a moment otherwise he believed he would have fainted.

"**My sincere apologies," **Hiccup tried to not shake though he was terrified, **"it's just that calling you Mr. Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus is a mouthful. Though the name fits you; a large name for large dragon"**

"**That's what your kind call us, but for those that are lucky to understand us we always tell them our name before they become lunch" **and he grinned with those fangs as tall as six big Vikings standing at top of each other's shoulders.

"**Then I would prefer not to know!" **Hiccup said in a hurry.

"**Hahaha, you are amusing little human" **the dragon had talked to other humans in the past, but they usually stuck to threatening him or begging for their lives,** "then, let me ask you this; why have you come here if you are not a sacrifice? I don't believe anyone sane would come to meet me unless they wanted to die"**

"**I know, right?" **Hiccup sighed, **"My tribe believes I can convince you to leave us alone"**

"**But you don't believe this" **stated the large dragon matter of fact.

"**Of course not," **said Hiccup sitting on the ledge of the cliff, **"dragons don't do things out of the kindness of their hearts; everyone knows that. They do things because it's convenient for them. There is nothing we can give you in exchange for our lives. Just because I can speak to dragons, it doesn't mean I truly understand you. You could be after the moon for all I know"**

"**And you are right little human," **the asteroid sized dragon got closer to the ledge, **"shouldn't you be running then?"**

"**There isn't a point, is there?"**

"**No, but humans are such hopeful little things. They always believe they can find a way" **and it was always entertaining to do watch them.

"**Well, I am not like that. There is nothing neither I nor my tribe can do to stop you even with all our dragons. Not that it would make a difference to me; I was supposed to be banished by my own father this morning"**

"**Oh please, don't start telling me your life story! It's always the same one" **the large dragon dug his claws in the sand.

"**How can it?" **Hiccup didn't think he was so cliché.

"**Parents don't understand you; thinks you are a failure, you think you are a failure, or everyone thinks you are a failure. There is a girl you like, but she doesn't even know you exist. There is this guy that is stronger and better than you at what you want to accomplish and you feel like have no control whatsoever in your life. Which one is it?" **the dragon finished with a humongous yawn.

"**All of them" **Hiccup was truly amazed, not just because the dragon was right but because he couldn't remember talking to a dragon for so long.

"**See, humans have had the same problems from the time they could start making those stupid sounds which they call languages"**

"**Really?" **was there another kid that was disappointed to his father like he was? Well, of course there was but he just hadn't thought about it.

"**Oh yes, it was fun at the beginning listening to them but I grew bored of it eventually, and you don't want me bored" **

"**Alright, then let me ask you something then, if that's okay with you" **he needed to keep the conversation going, not just because he would get eaten otherwise, but he had to try something even if it was pointless.

"**It seems only fair (though I know very little about being fair)"**

"**What do you fear?" **Hiccup decided t try his luck.

"**Nothing, of course" **said the dragon immediately.

"**Really?"**

"**I have no need to lie little human. I am what I am, which means nothing can kill me"**

"**Does it get boring?" **

The dragon stared at him skeptically. He thought he had already explained he disliked getting bored.

"**Living this way; you wake up, you eat everything and everyone, then you move to another place and do the same thing all over again"**

"**I admit you are a smart little human, but you won't be able to convince me from eating your tribe and island"**

"**One can always dream," **Hiccup knew he wouldn't be able to trick him.

"**Dream… dreaming is good as long as you don't dream while awake" **then the dragon started to yawn again. In his now foggy mind he was starting to remember a dream from not that long ago.

"**Do dragons dream?" **Hiccup knew it was a useless question, but he was sincerely curious.

"**Of course we do. Haven't you asked other dragons?"**

"**It never occurred to me, besides the dragons in my tribe aren't very talkative to humans" **one of them would probably bite his fingers off if he dared asked them.

"**Of course they aren't! They are no better than slaves" **there was clear bitterness in the dragon's voice.

"**Not that I am trying to convince you again, but I think I could have changed that if I became chief"**

"**No offence little one, but I think you are the kind that gets bully most of the time" **chuckled the dragon.

"**By Thor! Even dragons can tell!" **

"**It's not that hard after you already mentioned that you were going to get exiled. Why did you get exiled anyways?"**

"**I couldn't keep control of my own dragon. I stroke a deal with him, but do to circumstances out of my hands I lost control of him, not that I had much of it anyways, and well…"**

"**Well?" **now this was not something he had heard of before.

"**My tribe has no place for the weak, so I am banished"**

"**Huh? And now here you are, their only hope. What a turn, right? Destiny is such a… well you know" **and he gave a long yawn as Hiccup thought about this.

"**Yeah," **Hiccup laughed, **"yeah, you are right"**

"**Listen here little human," **said the dragon yawning a little less, **"I ate plenty on my way here so I am going to rest. You may come back later and we will talk some more before I eat you. Oh, and you can also tell your tribe that is pointless for them to try to escape. I will have taken care of these islands in a short while" **and it went to sleep before Hiccup could give him an answer.


	13. Not the Best Day to be a Hairy Hooligan

Chapter 13

He woke up when he caught the scent of an old acquaintance not to far from where he had decided to rest. It was a slightly younger dragon of his kind who many thought to be obnoxious and too curious for his own good. How he wished the Purple Death was here to knock some common sense into that brat. No one had heard of him for quite some time.

"**Help!"**

"**Let us out!"**

The dragons screeched; their young in the deepest of dragon cliff where they hoped they would be safe.

"**Shush you," **said the massive dragon, **"I am trying to rest" **he closed all his six eyes again and tried to go back to sleep. Then he caught the scent of humans who were waltzing into his resting place. He kept his eyes closed hoping they wouldn't make much of a racket.

888 A few hours ago 888

Hiccup entered the great hall where his father and the council were waiting seated.

"So, what did it say?" asked Stoick who had felt relief to see his son return.

"He doesn't like to be called _it_" Hiccup said.

"Ehh…" the council looked at each other in confusion.

"He is also very polite" Hiccup said standing before them trying to recall the whole conversation. It had been so bizarre that he wondered at times if he had imagined it all.

"So he will leave?" asked Stoick hopeful.

"No, he is taking a nap," the boy took a seat across from them, "then he wants to talk to me some more and then he said he will kill us all. Oh, and that it's pointless to try to escape as he will be destroying everything in the islands"

The council and Stoick were speechless for a moment, but it was just a moment.

"Did you even try to convince it!" the first shouted

"I bet he didn't!"

"It's his revenge against us!"

"Nothing good comes from talking to dragons! That's why we had that law!"

"Banish him! Banish him again!"

"Silence!" shouted Stoick and they all became silent. He looked at his son who didn't seem bothered at all by the accusations. He was scared; he didn't want to believe them true, "anything else?"

"He is not scared of anything because he is a Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus and nothing in this world can kill him. He also said that there is nothing we can do or give him to make him leave us alone as he prefers to watch us struggle even though we know it's hopeless"

"Do you think that?"

Hiccup glared at his father, "it doesn't matter what I think, I am banished; remember?" then he left.

The chief was silent for a long time; the rest of the council didn't dare say anything. Maybe, they had been insensitive about the whole banishing thing by asking the boy to help them. But they were Vikings; being tactful of each other's emotions didn't fit in their way of life. After a while Stoick asked for the best warriors to be brought to the great hall.

"If we are going to make that beast wish it never found us interesting!" he shouted to the bravest warriors who then gave their strongest battle cries.

After he had sent them to get what they needed ready, he approached Gothi who had been watching mostly in silence.

"You have to take Thornado and Hiccup and get out of here," Stoick ordered her, to which the old lady only raised an eyebrow.

"Is that so?" she asked looking up at the man that was many times bigger than her with apathy.

"Look, I know you didn't approve of me marrying Valhallarama and you were right. But that doesn't matter anymore because she is…" for the first time in his life he was finding to finish his sentences "I am a terrible father to our son, but at least I can try to keep him safe"

"Like you had planned to exile him today?" she reminded him carelessly. She was surprised to see him flinch as if she hurt him physically.

"I was going to take it back," he said feeling suddenly very old, "I…"

"Why didn't you tell him?" she asked sounding a little upset. Her grandson would be so happy to hear that his mighty father was ready to bend his precious traditions for him.

"What does it matter anymore! If you don't hurry he is going to get caught in all this and…" and die. His Hiccup would be turned to ashes along with the rest of them.

"Our only chance of survival would be going to the mainland, and once your dragon is spotted there, we will become outcasts. I am too old Stoick to take care of Hiccup, especially as wonderers" and she was a healer of the island, she knew little to nothing of the remedies in the mainland.

"Then what am I supposed to do? Send him alone? He is small and weak and…" and soft, he was soft like his old man! It was his fault his son was like this. He should have been more strict with him!

"And smart, brave (you can't deny that after he went to talk to that Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus), kind and can speak to dragons" the old woman sighed, "you haven't understood yet" and with that she left too, to do what? No one knew. Maybe she would go back to her home and wait for her death. Stoick found he was alone in the great hall.

8888

Hiccup sat on the steps of his house and watched as the whole tribe moved like an angry nest of wasps. The best warriors were getting ready for battle only to realize many of the dragons were missing.

"Hookfang!"

"That ungrateful beast!"

He heard many shouts come from the Jorgenson homes, while on the Hoffersons had just about all their dragons at ready. They stood as proud as their owners. Hiccup found this very interesting. He had noted they differed a lot on their training styles but never thought that it would count to this extent. He watched as the Ingerman ordered their dragons to leave but they refused to.

"**I guess not all dragons mind dying for their humans" **Hiccup said when he heard his little dragon walking towards him from inside the house.

"**They are a disgrace to dragons" **said Toothless though not loud enough to be heard by the two larger dragons inside.

"**Then why are you still here?" **Hiccup rolled his eyes at the small dragon. Who did the dragons think they were fooling?

"**Not because of you or your stupid tribe if that was what you were thinking" **said Toothless glaring at Hiccup.

"**Never crossed my mind, then why?" **he wondered what kind of excuse his little dragon would make.

"**The Red Death is here and I will kill it as it is my destiny" **it was a little too early but Toothless convinced himself that this was the meant to be.

Hiccup stared at the small dragon. He had never heard Toothless sound so serious without sounding creepy.

"**So you know this dragon" **he thought the name Red Death was also fitting.

"**That is none of your business" **said Toothless blowing a few smoke rings, trying to relax himself.

"**Of course it isn't"** he glared at the little dragon, "**it's not like it's going to kill everyone I know"**

Unable to stand still anymore he stood up and went for a walk away from the tribe.

"**Where are you going!" **he heard Toothless shout after him.

"**It's none of your business!" **he shouted back.

"**Stupid human!"**

"**Stupid dragon!"**

It wasn't long before they were deep in the woods still shouting at each other.

Astrid was in the same woods practicing with her axe. Stormfly nested not too far watching her angrily.

"Stop that! I am staying; you can leave if you want to!" her dragon had been looking at her like that the moment she told her father she wasn't leaving on the back of his dragon. She wanted to stay and fight too. She wished she could make her dragon understand this. She tried to say it with her expression but Stormfly would simply turn her head away any time she tried. Then she heard a screeches and growls. She pulled her axe from the tree she had been using as target and readied to fight.

"**You are so tiny that you wouldn't even fill a cavity!"**

"**Well, you aren't even worth using as a toothpick!"**

"**At least he has teeth!"**

"**And you are a no good know-it-all!"**

She spotted Hiccup followed closely by his dragon walking through the woods and from the way they sounded it wasn't a friendly chat.

"Hiccup!"

"**What!" **then he realized it was Astrid and shut his mouth like a clam. Astrid looked as shocked as he did.

"**Great going algae brain!" **laughed Toothless cruelly above him.

"**No one asked your opinion," **Hiccup told him before turning to Astrid, "sorry about that"

"Just don't ever do it again," she said and he nodded, but wondered if there would even be a chance for that, "aren't you going to get ready for the battle?" she imagined since he wasn't leave he too was willing to fight to the end.

"I will pass," he said before he continued his way.

"You are not going?" asked Astrid stunned; all the teens of the tribe had chosen to stay though it was suicidal.

"Nope," he said simply, and was thankful that Toothless wasn't commenting anymore.

"But…" she stopped, almost dropped her axe but was able to clutch it again.

"Look Astrid, I think you are really cool" he could feel his face starting to turn red again, "but no matter how good you are or how strong the rest of the tribe is there is no way we can beat that thing. Did you notice many of the dragons left? That's because they know this is hopeless"

"Stormfly didn't go," she said turning to look at her dragon that was following her. She could hear her squawking under her breath, probably complaining.

"Because she likes you, she thinks you are brave but also stupid for not leaving" Hiccup said before Astrid's axe flew just above his head.

"What did you call me!" Astrid snapped marching angrily towards him ready to pound some respect into his thick skull.

"It wasn't me!" he said stepping back cautiously and pointed at the shocked Nadder, "she just said that"

"Stormfly!" Astrid turned on her dragon who stared at her worriedly.

"**Snoopy human!" **screeched Stormfly at him.

"**It's not my fault you dragons can't admit you like some of us"**

"**I never!" **she squawked offended.

"Stop discussing with my dragon!" Astrid shouted at them.

At the end Hiccup ended with bruise on his shoulder and with Toothless, Astrid, and Stormfly following him. Not the way he had thought he would spend his last day in Berk.

"You are going to Dragon Cliff?" Astrid asked after a while.

"Yeah, I want to see if the rest of the dragons also left" he wouldn't be surprised if they did.

"**Help!"**

"**Someone help!"**

"**We can't get out!"**

"**Help!?"**

"You heard that?" Hiccup asked.

"Dragons, many of them" Astrid couldn't ever remember hearing the dragons so scared.

They rushed through the remaining of the path until they came out of the woods and into the beach that a few months ago had been covered in snow. As soon as they came out they turned and went back into the woods hoping it hadn't noticed them.

"This is not true, it can't be" said Astrid shaking behind the same bush as Hiccup.

"We are so fucking dead," before them another Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus lay sleeping, its head resting against dragon cliff blocking the cave entrance where many of the dragons of the island lived and nested.

"**The Green Death," **Toothless said in awe. This couldn't be a coincidence. He was sure it wasn't.

"We have to tell the rest" said Astrid turning and getting ready to leave but then she noticed Hiccup wasn't moving, "what are you waiting for?"

"It's larger than the Red Death" he said picking his head out a little further.

"The what?"

"The other Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus, this one is bigger"

"Isn't that just great…" sneered Astrid, "stop looking so amazed" she wanted to shout and punch him.

"He was wrong," said Hiccup more to himself than her or the dragons, "there is something that can kill a Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus"

"What are you talking about?" she thought he had gone mad from the shock.

"The way to kill a Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus" he told her with a crazy smile.

"**You are mad," **said Toothless but he too was smiling.


	14. Blue Flowers, Cup of Tea, and Crazy Plan

Chapter 14

Astrid did her best not to fidget as the rest of the teenagers followed her along with their dragons to an empty field in the outskirts of the village. She saw Hiccup and Fishlegs waiting there with their dragons. When they spotted them they became incredibly quiet and with good reason.

"You tricked us!" Tuffnut was the first to shout in indignation.

"You said we were going to kill that big dragon on our own" added Dogsbreath.

"You didn't say anything about the geeks coming with us" mumbled Speedifist.

"Not cool, not cool at all Astrid" added Snotlout lastly.

"Would you all shut up for a moment?!" Astrid said exasperated seeing that the rest were about to complain too, "Hiccup and me…"

"Uhh… Hiccup and Astrid sitting on a tree…" started Tuffnut.

"Ruffnut," Astrid said simply before the twin hit her brother, "we found another one of those dragons at Dragon Cliff"

"Cool! We will be double the heroes!" the teens started to cheer and sing without hearing the rest of the explanation.

Fishlegs gave an exasperated sigh.

"You have gone mad" he whispered harshly to his friend. He trusted Hiccup and his ideas but his choice of companions not so much.

"If I didn't believe this would work I wouldn't have called for you" whispered Hiccup back.

"**I am with your large friend on this one" **said Toothless as he watched the Hofferson try to rein the rest into order through a lot of violence.

"And them," Fishlegs couldn't keep the resentment out of his voice.

"No one else will listen to us, and if this work we will get ourselves un-banished"

"**Not that we wanted to stay," **added Toothless unnecessarily.

The twins started to hit each other for no reason before Tuffnut got tackled by Heather when he said something along the lines 'girls are so weak'. From there it turned into a dog pile with Astrid trying to pull them apart.

Fishlegs couldn't believe Hiccup trusted them. Astrid he could understand but the rest were hopeless.

"Or we might die!" he could hold it in anymore and shouted when a mud pie hit him on the face.

"We are already dead if we don't try something!" Hiccup shouted right back. Fishlegs mouth hung open in misbelieve; Hiccup had never really shouted at him.

"Look! Geeks fighting!" Tuffnut said before sitting

"Let's see which one cries first!" Ruffnut sat too.

"Would you please take this seriously?" asked Hiccup frustrated. They were short of time. He was sure his father would try to launch their attack some time soon.

"Like we can take a freak like you seriously," said Snotlout who wrapped an arm around his dragon's neck when he tried to escape…again.

"**Let me go you pig faced human!" **screeched Hookfang.

While Hiccup and Astrid had been in the woods Snotlout had gathered the other teens that had their dragons go missing. They had all gone to search for them and found them in a cave. It took a lot of shouting, threatening and wrestling to get them to follow them back to the village.

"Shut up Snotlout, unless you got a better idea" Astrid said as she dropped the sacks Hiccup had asked her to bring.

"Of course I do! I think we should go and poke their eyes out while they are sleeping!" he thought it was a very clever idea.

"Yeah, like no one has thought that the past few hundred of years" said Hiccup tiredly and before Snotlout could rebut he continued, "Look, these things are very smart. They have hundreds of years of life to back that up, so we have to go about this the smart way. Even if we gathered all the other tribes to fight them we would still stand no chance"

"Just because you are a coward it doesn't mean we are!" sneered Snotlout, the others echoed in agreement.

Hiccup rolled his eyes; "you are still not getting it" he turned to Astrid hoping she could make him understand.

"Look Snotlout," she said walking threateningly towards him, "I am going to put this in the simplest way I can," she said, "Hiccup has a pretty good idea which just might work. You got an idea too, but it's a stupid one that will surely get us all killed. So, unless in the following five minutes you grow an actual brain and get over your obsession of wanting to become chief, I recommend you shut your big fat mouth and do what he tells you"

"Wow, even I understood that" said Tuffnut to which his sister only shook her head in disappointment.

"Or what?" sneered Snotlout close to Astrid's face.

"Or I will cut your fat head off" and in a swift motion Astrid had knocked him off his feet and placed the blade of her axe an inch away from his meaty neck.

"O… okay, but don't blame me when we get all killed because of him," said Snotlout before Astrid removed her axe and let him stand up. All the while he glared at a surprised Hiccup.

"Alright," he said clearing his throat; "first thing first" he turned to the twins "You two once said you knew where Mildew kept his plantation of Blue Oleander flowers, right?"

"Of course we do, we always make sure it burns _accidentally_" said Ruffnut rolling her eyes at him.

"Not this time Ruff, we need you two to guide us there so we can take as many as we can on these sacks" Hiccup said before he started passing them.

After they left the dragons waiting at the village so they wouldn't get poisoned the teens started towards the hut of the old mad man better known as Mildew the Crabby. The old man detested dragons for some reason though he had one at some point in his life. After his dragon died for some _inexplicable_ reason the old man had moved to a lonely hut far from the rest of the tribe and started to plant Blue Oleander which he usually sold to other tribes in the black market. It was considered very dishonorable to poison someone's dragon, but that didn't stop some people from doing it.

"I hope your plan isn't just about trying to poison them, there won't be enough to poison even one of them" Fishlegs said as they walked behind the rest of the group.

"I know, but it will work as a distraction so one gets killed" said Hiccup to his friend, "you trust me, right?"

"Of course I do, I just don't trust them" Fishlegs said pointedly at the rest of the teens.

"We can hear you, you know?" said Astrid just ahead of them. She was rewarded with a flushing Fishlegs, "we always do" she slowed down slightly to walk on Hiccup's other side "you guys are so annoying sometimes, you always complain about everything and everyone"

"We don't!" squeaked Fishlegs as he started to turn red. Since none of them ever said anything he always thought they weren't listening.

"They are mad!" mimicked Ruffnut rolling her eyes

"They are too violent!" said Astrid punching Hiccup on the shoulder again

"Because it's true," Hiccup whispered under his breath before he got another one, "why would you do that!"

"They are going to get us killed!" Speedifist said laughing. This was turning to be fun.

"Leave that Nadder's egg alone Tuffnut!" said Tuffnut, "Are you out of your mind Tuffnut?!"

"Blah, blah, blah!" said Snotlout before he heard his cousin laugh, "What is so funny!"

"You guys!" said Hiccup in between breaths, "we thought you could care less for what we said!"

"And we don't care!" said Astrid defensively before the rest started to shout the same thing. She hoped her face wasn't turning red. Leave it to the smartass to turn their complains on them, "it's just annoying that you two are always looking down on us"

"We don't look down on you," said Hiccup surprised.

"I do," Fishlegs said before Hiccup punched his shoulder, though not very aggressively, "you are turning into one of them!"

Hiccup rolled his eyes at his friends.

"See?" said Astrid and the rest agreed. Hiccup realized then that they all had stopped. Astrid, Snotlout, Tuffnut, Ruffnut, Speedifist, Heather, Dogsbreath, and Wartihog; all the other teens in their class were nodding in agreement, "We know you two are smart, but that's just what you guys are good at. We are good at other things and one of them is being Vikings. We don't need you to know that the things we do sometimes are crazy. Believe me, we know"

"I don't" said Tuffnut before he got pushed by his sister into the mud which made everyone laugh. This broke the slight tension between before they kept going.

Astrid continued to walk alongside Hiccup and Fishlegs who kept looking at each other and then the rest. She knew they meant no harm with their comments, but this had been a thorn on her side for some time now. She knew she was smart too, not as much as them (or so she liked to think), but that didn't mean she was less than them.

"Sorry," Hiccup said as they arrived to the plantation.

"Don't get all touchy feeling on me," said Astrid because she knew that if she said something else she would show that she actually did care.

As she approached one of the bushes "is this it?" she asked.

"Let me check," said Fishlegs bringing out a small notebook and checking his notes on the flower, "definitely"

The teens put globes they had brought with them and started to fill their sacks with the beautiful blue flowers. In no time they were done and hurried back to the village. Once they were back they saw the warriors of their tribe doing the last touches before the battle.

"No no no no no no…" they watched Hiccup run off towards his grandmother's hut, "Fishlegs!"

"C…coming!" shouted the large boy before he followed as fast as he could.

"What are they doing?" asked Ruffnut to Astrid.

"Beats me," she said, but hoped whatever it was that it would work.

Not long after they watched as Fishlegs carried Hiccup's elderly grandmother towards the hall, with Hiccup close behind them with a cup of what seemed to be tea and being very careful to not drop it.

"I know, I know" Gothi said tiredly as Hiccup handed her the cup, "just wait here for a minute" she said before she went in.

Gothi actually returned two minutes later before signaling the kids to come in.

"Hurry" Hiccup told the rest before they went into the great hall where they found Stoick the Vast passed out with the same cup Gothi had brought in.

"It will give you an hour at the most" said Gothi as she kept checking on the door of the hall.

"Let's move the table to cover him, it will be a lot easier than trying to push him under it" said Fishlegs before Hiccup nodded.

"What in Thor's name are you two doing!" shouted Astrid.

"I don't know but I am in!" said Ruffnut before she started to help.

"We need to delay their attack, and the best way to do that is to make the leader of the attack disappear for a while" Hiccup said before they used the table to hid Stoick under it. Someone brought a long mantel to make it more difficult for anyone to find the chief. It looked fishy, but Hooligans rarely paid attention to details like that.

"Go now," said Gothi, "I will try to distract anyone who is looking for him"

"Thank you," Hiccup hugged her before he ran out the door with the rest following him.

"It was my pleasure," she laughed softly and went to sit near the table that hid her thick headed son in law.

888

Gobber went into the great hall looking for Stoick. It was supposed to be the time to face their inevitable deaths but he couldn't find their fearless leader. He was surprise to only find Gothi drinking a cup of tea when he went in.

"Elder Gothi, have you see Stoick?" he asked looking around as if it was possible to miss such a large man.

"I believe he went to Thor's temple to ask for some luck" she told her before sipping her tea.

"Thanks!" he said before leaving the great hall.

Just in time, thought Gothi before the table shook slightly from one of Stoick's snores.

888

Hiccup brought Thornado and Thorch to the field where they were working on the flower bombs.

"**Don't get too close" **he told them.

"**Don't need to tell us twice," **said Thornado

"**What do you want us to do boy?" **asked Thorch with a lesser level of snob.

Hiccup took a deep breath. He knew he was taking a great gamble on trusting them, but hoped their dire situation would make them participate.

"**I want you," **he said to Thorch, **"to protect them and their dragons while they go to draw in the Red Death"**

Hiccup waited for the dragon to start complaining.

"**Anything else?" **Thorch asked after a few seconds, his eyes were set on the teens and young dragons.

"**Ehm… Well, not really"**

"**Alright," **the dragon said before he went to join the younger Monstrous Nightmare that looked rather unhappy to be part of the plan.

"**What was that?" **asked Hiccup to Thornado.

"**No one likes the idea of dying at the claws of those monsters," **Thornado said looking slightly surprised as well, **"what do you have for me?"**

"**I want you to come with me to draw the Green Death" **he said.

"**How do you plan to do that?" **he couldn't imagine why they boy would go on his own.

"**Talk to it," **he said before he caressed the dragon's head.

"**And me? What do I get to do?!" **Toothless said joining them excitedly.

"**Your part is the most important of all" **he told the little dragon very seriously.

Toothless wouldn't come to appreciate how import his part was until much later.


	15. Playing with a Big Fire Breathing Dragon

Chapter 15

"**YOU! NIGHT FURY!" **the Green Death growled as the small dragon flew just ahead of him.

"**Toothless!" **screamed Hiccup at top of his lungs as Thornado carried him away from the danger, **"We have to go back!"**

"**Are you mad?! He will not just eat your pitiful dragon, but us as well!" **said the dragon as he set course for the village.

"**No!" **shouted Hiccup before he jumped off the dragon's back and into the forest. In that moment he realized that he hadn't really been thinking reasonably, but now it was too late to go back.

888 Not so long ago 888

"**Messanger! Messanger!"** Toothless couldn't help screeching as he flew around Hiccup's head, "**that's not important at all!"**

"**Of course it is!"** shouted Hiccup back as he covered his ears, "**you are the fastest dragon here. I need you to synchronize the plan, also if something goes wrong you got to let the others know that they have to retreat"**

Toothless started blowing smoke rings faster than usual. Hiccup realized the little dragon did this to calm himself down.

"**It's my destiny to kill them,"** said Toothless before he landed before Hiccup, "**I have to be the one!"**

"**You keep saying that, but haven't told me even one way of how you would do it" **Hiccup sighed.

Toothless opened his gum filled mouth but then shut it tightly. He hadn't thought about that.

"**Well?" **asked Hiccup.

"**Fine!" **screeched the little dragon before he flew off to perch on a tree. From there he glared at his so called trainer **"why couldn't he be like any other stupid Viking…" **grumbled the little dragon.

"Do you two ever agree on anything?" Astrid asked. She didn't need to know Dragonese to understand they didn't get along that well.

"Rarely, is everyone ready?" he asked her before she nodded, "alright, let's get moving" he said before he went to sit at top of Thornado, they along with Toothless who flew close to them left towards where the Green Death was resting.

"You heard him! Get moving!" shouted Astrid before they started to walk towards the beach where the Red Death was found.

It didn't take them long to reach the cliff that faced the sea and the monstrosity that was the Red Death. Besides Astrid, it was the first time the rest of the teens had seen a Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus.

"I think I heard my dad calling me," said Snotlout as he started to step back. He thought they had been exaggerating about the whole 'size of a mountain' stuff.

"Who is the coward now," Fishlegs couldn't help saying.

"Who are you calling a coward?" growled Snotlout advancing on the larger boy.

"Who do you think?" Fishlegs said raising his chin in defiance. If they were going to die, at least he would go like a Viking.

"Enough you two," said Astrid who was getting tired of having to split them, "let's wait for the signal" she said before they settled in the bushes. Astrid started to give the dragons the flower bombs and reminding them not to grip them too hard or they would break and poison them.

Meanwhile Hiccup, Toothless and Thornado landed not far from the beach. From there they walked towards the Green Death. When they reached the edge of the woods he gave the signal to Toothless to fly to the rest and give signal. As soon as the small dragon was out of sight he started towards the beach.

Thornado got close as he dared to the edge of the woods without being seen. He knew he had to be fast if things went wrong.

Hiccup kept walking straight forwards the large dragon acting as fearless as he could. In the background he could hear the dragons from the cave continue to screech to be released. He tried to block the sound out, and though he wouldn't be able to until he heard the large dragon speak.

"**Human…" **said the Green Death opening his eyes, **"are you blind?" **he had to be. No human would dare to walk towards him.

"**I am not," **said Hiccup, **"the Green Death I presume" **he used the most snobbish look he could muster.

"**Who has spoken my name?" **thought he already imagined it had been the other Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus. He believed to be right on saying that he spoke too much.

"**The Red Death," **said Hiccup picking at his nails, **"I just had to see if what he said was true" **he picked at the large dragon before him waiting for his reaction.

"**And what is that?" **the dragon asked indifferent, but at the same time he brought his snout closer to the small human to sniff him. He indeed stank of the Red Death, and some other dragons.

"**I prefer not to say" **said Hiccup turning his back on the large dragon. He could almost hear Thornado hold his breath from the woods.

"**Why is that?" **the large dragon brought a claw around to block his path towards the woods.

"**Because you might get upset and eat me" **said Hiccup as he turned to face him again, though this time he didn't hide his fear completely.

"**I am going to eat you anyways" **snarled the dragon with a malicious smile.

"**Then will you let me go if I tell you?" **Hiccup proposed. He didn't think Thornado would be fast enough to get him out of his current position.

"**Maybe, depends on what you say" **said the dragon before moving his paw away.

At the edge of the woods Thornado released a breath he had been holding. If the Green Death didn't kill him, he was sure Stoick would if he didn't bring his youngling back.

"**I don't trust you," **said Hiccup firmly.

"**Right you are not to trust me human, now tell me before I make your death more painful than necessary" **the dragon brought his long claws only a meter away from Hiccup and tapped them impatiently.

"**I don't know, the Red Death said he would keep us safe" **Hiccup said troubled.

"**He what?" **the large dragon shouted before everyone, including the dragons in Dragon Cliff became deadly quiet.

"**He said he was going to take over the island and keep us safe" **said Hiccup in a barely audible whisper, but the dragon heard him just fine.

"**You are lying" **growled the dragon. He knew humans were willing of anything if it could save their miserable lives.

"**I am not," **Hiccup shook his head wondering for how much longer the Green Death would be able to hold.

"**Prove it" **sneered the dragon, which allowed Hiccup to have a very good view of his fangs which were as long, if not longer the Red Death's. The stench of decaying flesh was just as bad.

"**I am here and I know his name, don't I?" **he answered, his voice almost cracking.

The Green Death had planned originally to end the human's life no matter his answer, but stopped and thought for a moment. The human was right; the Red Death only gave his name to his victims just before he devoured them, never earlier.

"**Why would one of us care for the safety of your kind?" **he asked in a snobbish tone, he had calmed somewhat with the riddle Hiccup had placed before him.

"**Beats me, I was as surprised as much you" **he said relaxing slightly (as relaxed as you could be when standing before a dragon the size of a mountain).

"**I still think that you are lying" **said the dragon looking at him with distrust. Humans were never to be trusted, that's what his mother had told him after he had eaten most of his siblings and proven his superiority.

"**Why don't you go ask him? The beach he is resting is that way" **said Hiccup taking the opportunity.

"**I am fine here," **said the large dragon leaning even more towards Dragon Cliff.

The rock shook and they both could tell cliff wouldn't stand the weight of the large for much longer. The dragons inside could also tell. For a moment they listened to their cries and screeches. The cries of their young were the most haunting.

"**Why do you keep the other dragons trapped?" **he asked when they became quiet again.

"**What is it to you little human?" **asked the Green Death a little more curious. This was one strange human.

"**I was also sent to see what happened to them. The Red Death needs them" **he said without thinking. He knew he couldn't let them die in there.

"**And why would that be?" **now that was something he would have expected from any dragon of their kind for they were above all dragons and could play, eat, and dispose of however they wanted. Their lives meant little to them, though he had always suspected the Red Death of being rather idealistic. He thought no dragon should ever obey a human, no matter how small and meaningless.

"**He wants them to hunt for him, so he can stay in the island and over see everything" **Hiccup made sure to take advantage of the Green Death's moment of thought.

"**What a sad day when one of us has to rely on the run of the mill dragons" **he grumbled and blew steam towards the boy who hadn't thought he could also die roasted, not just eaten.

"**So what he said is true," **said Hiccup wondering if maybe he had miscalculated Toothless speed. For a fraction of a moment he wondered if the small dragon had changed his mind and left the island.

"**What!" **what did the human mean by that? He was getting irritated again.

"**That you were old and boring" **Hiccup said the first thing that came mind hoping he was right about the Green Death being older.

"**I am not old!" **was his indignant growl as the beast rose his wings creating waves that crashed into the beach.

"**Close minded and ignorant" **Hiccup added to the pit before the large dragon raised one of his claws

"**That impertinent son of Jormungand!" **and brought them down creating a cage around Hiccup with them.

"**Don't kill me!" **screamed Hiccup, this time for real.

"**Why shouldn't I! You are a very impertinent human!" **the dragon started to close them. He was going to squish and cut him until nothing was recognizable.

"**You are the one that kept asking!" **shouted Hiccup. He knew there was no way for Thornado to get him out like that.

Then, as in cue the heard the explosive roar of the Red Death. He sounded furious **"GREEN DEATH!"**

"**He knows…" **said Hiccup.

"**What are you talking about?!" **the dragon pulled his claws back. Hiccup fell on his bottom and started to retreat.

"**He knows you want to kill me and he is not happy" **he said breathless as he found strength to get up again.

"**He does not!" **no dragon had the ability to do that, especially not an embarrassment for the great dragon like the Red Death.

"**Then how do you explain that?" **said Hiccup who had almost reached the edge of the woods.

"**GREEN DEATH! SHOW YOURSELF COWARD!" **they heard the Red Death shout again.

"**Coward!" **he was a great dragon! He feared nothing especially not that idiot!

The land and sea started to tremble, each tremble greater than the one before. The Red Death was making his way towards them.

The Green Death started to stand on his four legs. Soon he was up and showing the full size of a Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus. The dragons at the mouth of the cave from Dragon Cliff didn't dare come out when they saw him. And it was no wonder as the Green Death was furious like never before. He was going to rip the Red Death apart and make him watch as he gutted him! How dare he talk like that about him, and more importantly to a worthless human! Then the Green Death turned his immense head and glared at the small human. Yeah, he would teach them both a lesson.

The great beast reached for Hiccup and before the boy could run off he picked him up with the precision of a surgeon using his claws only. Hiccup dangled from his robes frozen in terror.

"**You are coming with me," **smiled cruelly the Green Death, **"I am going to make that idiot understand that he can't protect anything from me! I will squish you until you are nothing but a red stain!"**

Well, thought Hiccup, he had done his best and they would probably end up killing each other which meant the rest of the tribe, including the dragons were going to be safe. Hiccup resigned to his fate because he really didn't think anyone would be able to save him.

"**Let my human go!" **they heard a shout before the air was filled with the sound a high pitched screech.

"**Toothless! Don't!" **he shouted but the small dragon had already released his shoot which struck the claw that held him. The Green Death dropped him and at once Thornado taking advantage of the distraction Toothless created went to get Hiccup before taking into the air.

Hiccup watched in amazement as his dragon flew around the Green Death shooting some more.

"**DIE WRECK OF THE PAST!" **screeched the small dragon.

"**YOU! NIGHT FURY!" **the Green Death growled as the small dragon flew just ahead of him keeping out of reach.

"**Toothless!" **he heard Hiccup shout. As he evaded the attempts of the Green Death of capturing him, Toothless was able to watch as Thornado took Hiccup away and to safety. Good.


	16. The Other Side of the Island Called Berk

Chapter 16

A storm was brewing, the signs were clear. Thunder could be heard not far and the winds started to become restless. This was an omen, she was sure. They had to be insane to do this. She watched as the eyelids of the great beast fluttered, trying to wake up. Astrid never thought she would feel so much fear in her life and yet it was so exhilarating (insane indeed). Even if they didn't survive, she would never regret her decision. Her eyes locked on the Red Death that was stirring, ready to finally finish his nap.

"Where is that useless dragon?" she heard someone growl, but didn't pay them much attention. She knew that if they started too early they would ruin everything.

Finally the Red Death opened one of his three pairs of eyes. Astrid stopped breathing when those large and cruel yellow eyes started looking their way. She was ready to tell everyone to run, believing they had been found but then the beast yawned carelessly. It hadn't seen them, thank Odin. Then, as the beast yawned she saw his impossibly large fangs, and all of her bravery left her. Only fear remained. Hiccup had told her that it would keep them alive as long as the beast found them entertaining, but she hadn't truly believed him until then. This was a creature that didn't really need to destroy their home and kill them, but still did because he was bored.

"**Calm down," **she felt her dragon nudge her hip. Her eye contact with the Red Death broke and she looked down at Stormfly. She lifted her claw to show her she was still holding to the flower bomb, **"I won't let him hurt you"**

Astrid only heard gentle croons from her dragon "Thank you," she said scratching the head of her dragon. The message was clear enough.

"**All of you stand by," **growled Thorch to the younger dragons, **"ready?" **he asked Hookfang who was fidgeting.

"**Why does it have to be me?" **whined the young Monstrous Nightmare for the thousandth time.

"**It's the itsy bitsy bunny hearted, seaweed brained Nightmare afraid?" **sneered Thorch, **"because if he is, he is free to leave right now like a coward and let a much more worthy dragon take over"**

"**I am neither bunny hearted nor a coward. I am the dragon of the next chief," **he said proudly.

"**Well, I **_**am**_** the chief's dragon and you don't see me complaining, do you?" **Thorch said turning around to watch the great beast rise on his forelegs.

Hookfang sneered at the older dragon and stopped fidgeting, and just in time.

Toothless who had been flying low to keep himself to be spotted landed behind them.

"**It's time," **he said before all the dragons froze, **"what are you waiting for? An invitation? Go!"**

The snapped them out. The teens followed their dragons around the cliff that faced the beach as they carried more flower bombs.

"This is crazy," whined Fishlegs as he and Astrid made it to their location.

"You were born in a Viking tribe that rides fire breathing dragons, remember?" Astrid said as she found a good bush to hide behind of and wait for the time to attack.

"Really? I hadn't noticed," said Fishlegs rolling his eyes before Astrid pulled his arms harshly and made him crouch.

"Shh…" she shushed him before they waited for Hookfang, then she noticed their dragons fidgeting and she understood why. Hookfang was nowhere in sight.

"**Where is that snob?"** growled Stormfly when a whole minute passed and still there was no sight of the Monstrous Nightmare.

Back at their original point of departure Toothless wished he could say see he was enjoying what he was seeing. In any other occasion where their lives weren't depending on those two agreeing he would be laughing his dragon hind off, but not now.

"Go Hookfang," huffed and puffed Snotlout as he tried to push his dragon forwards, but Hookfang wouldn't move one claw or utter even an insult. He stood frozen and his eyes clearly reflected his fear.

"**For Thors sake!" **growled Thorch before he pushed the smaller Nightmare out of his way, **"you will never be a chief's dragon" **he opened his large leathery wings, they were magnificent, **"watch and learn" **he said proudly before taking off towards the Red Death.

"What did just happen?" asked Snotlout before Toothless waddled on his four legs until he was standing beside them and looked at Hookfang, "what do you want salamander with wings?" Snotlout said ready to kick the little dragon. Like hell he was going to let this mongrel make fun of his Monstrous Nightmare.

"**If my friend dies," **he said looking directly at Hookfang who finally snapped from his fright, **"I will kill you" **and with that he flew back to watch from a branch.

"Whatever he said," huffed Snotlout, "don't pay attention to him. You are much better than him"

"**At least I am not a coward," **said Toothless before turning to watch as Thorch circled the mountain sized dragon.

"**Shut up," **was all Hookfang could say before he too watched the older and wiser Nightmare.

Thorch thought his heart was going to explode as he finally caught the attention of the Red Death. He made sure to look directly at his eyes and hide as much fear as he could. If he failed, then there would be no dragon large enough to take the young humans out. He had to make sure he didn't fail.

"**Greetings juvenile and eccentric Red Death!" **he used his most aristocratic voice, **"I bring salutations from my master the magnificent Green Death!"**

"**The geezer is here?" **he hadn't expected that particular dragon to be the one he was waiting for. He was a complete and utter snob! He could barely stand him, but it had been a long time since he saw one of their own so he decided that he would swallow his pride just this once and invite him to eat with him.

"**Oh yes!" **said Thorch twirling in the air gracefully** "The greatest of all dragons in the known world; the one with the hottest fire, the sharpest of claws, and meanest of tempers which knows no mercy" **even to Thorch's ears that sounded annoying.

"**I know who he is you parasite," **growled the Red Death.

"**And he wants you to leave this island as he finds your dwelling here unwelcome" **Thorch almost sang the words as he flew a little higher. He wasn't a fool after all, **"he wants to dine here on his own and if you interfere he will end your miserable life with the flicker of one of his glorious claws!"**

"**Why doesn't that bastard come and tell me this himself" **he should have known the snob thought he was too good to share this island with him, thought the Red Death. Yeah, his methods were unconventional but he still got the job done.

"**You are not worth his time, why else!" **Thorch cracked a laugh so annoying that the Red Death almost covered his ears.

"**I will rip that idiot to shreds!" **the Red Death swung a gigantic claw at Thorch, but he evaded it barely. Said claw ended up ripping part of the cliff off, but luckily none of the teens were there.

"**As if you could!" **laughed Thorch snobbishly, though inside he was close to dying of a heart attack** "but if you must try he is that way" **he pointed with his tail and was ready to lead him there, but then what they feared was said.

"**No, I am going to eat every single thing in this island and I will show him who is the greater dragon" **the great beast opened his immense wings. He blocked the light of the sun and the teens shivered like babes in the middle of a thunderous night.

"**I knew you weren't a coward!" **said Thorch changing his tone from snobbish to that of admiration, **"you are a young and revolutionary dragon after all!""**

"**Damn right I am!" **said the Red Death happy to finally get some recognition.

"**You passed!" **shouted Thorch making a few spirals in the air.

"**I what?" **the Red Death growled. Now what was this buffoon up to?

"**It was a test from the Green Death! He thinks your new way of thinking is not just world-shattering but also fascinating but you also proved that you fear nothing as it should be for one of your greatness. He asked us to bring you a present if you passed, so please receive it with the highest of recognitions"**

It took them a moment to gather their wits but then the young dragons came out of the bushes carrying the flower bombs.

"**It's a delicacy!"** shouted Thorch, **"Dragon Nip of the highest quality grown only in this island. It is only fair that you get a good share before erasing all of it"**

"**I have no interest for Dragon Nip" **and neither did any dragon of his kind. The stuff wasn't strong enough for them.

"**But you must! This one is very special AND it's a gift after all" **pushed Thorch by singing on the Red Death's tiny ears.

"**Fine!" **as long as it got that fool off his back.

"**Open wide!" **sand Thorch before the young dragons started to drop the bombs into the Red Death's open jaws. On impact they opened and spread the blue flowers all over the gargantuan beast's mouth. He swallowed them carelessly and realized they had a nice flavor, though it was not what he remembered Dragon Nip tasted like. It was after the third delivery of the young dragons that the Red Death realized something was not right. He started to sneeze and his three pairs of eyes started to tear up.

"**What is this!"** he shouted turning his head away. The young dragons flew higher with their bombs hoping they were out of reach.

"**Blue Oleander you big fool! Do you really think the Green Death would think of you other than a bother! Now go away before my master comes and finishes you himself. Run along now you miserable parasite of the sea!" **screeched Thorch right next to the Red Death's ear as loud as he could, **"go you lousy excuse of a dragon!"**

The Red Death snapped his head to the side hitting Thorch and sending him crashing to the waves.

"**I will kill you all!"** shouted the Red Death, swinging his claws wildly trying to catch the young dragons, but thanks to the effects of the Blue Oleander he could barely see beyond his watering eyes.

"**You got to catch us first!" **screeched Stormfly before she and the others started to guide the half blind Red Death towards Dragon Cliff, **"come on you big loaf and meet our master!"**

"**GREEN DEATH!" **he had never felt so furious in his life. He followed the voices of the young dragons taunting him.

As soon as the Red Death was well on his way Toothless took off towards Hiccup hoping it was not too late. He had a really bad feeling about the Green Death.

Astrid and Fishlegs watched as Toothless flew off faster they had ever seen him towards Dragon Cliff.

"**Humans," **Thorch landed wet before them making sure not to lean too much on one of his hind legs which he hurt when he crashed into the sea. He leaned down so they would mount him.

"But we haven't received our riding training yet," complained Fishlegs as he climbed shakily.

"Consider this a crash course" said Astrid getting an approving chuckle from the Nightmare.

"What about us!" one of the other teens asked.

"Go and tell the rest of what is happening near Dragon Cliff, if one of those survives we will need all the help we can get," Astrid shouted as they too took off towards Dragon Cliff.

The teens hurried as fast as they could towards the village. Once they were out of sight Snotlout came out of his hiding place with Hookfang.

"You go and follow the rest and act like nothing wrong happened. There was just a slight change in the plan, understand?" he growled furious the last part.

Hookfang nodded grimly before he took off after the rest. Snotlout made sure he was well on his way before he started to run to catch up with the rest.

8888

Stoick woke up in a very weird place. He could tell it was the floor of the great hall (which he recognized well from his youth), but what was a table with a table top of all things doing above him? Then he remembered Gothi and her supposedly strengthening tea. In one swift movement he sent the table flying off and stood looking for the old witch. She sat not too far knitting a pair of socks for her grandson.

"Why!" he marched towards her.

"Because your son asked me to," she said simply.

"Hiccup? Why?" he had a bad feeling about this.

Then they heard a racket coming from outside.

"It looks like we are about to find out," she said before Thornado followed by most of the teenagers of the tribe tackled the door of the great hall open and hurried towards him.

He caught pieces and nips here and there of what they were shouting.

Two Seadragonus… Hiccup… Green Death… Hiccup's Plan… Blue Oleander… worried growls from Thornado… Dragon Cliff…

"Everyone towards Dragon Cliff!" he shouted at top of his lungs before he mounted Thornado, "take me to my son!" and the dragon took off.

8888

Hiccup stumbled into the beach where Toothless was still flying and escaping barely of the Green Death's clutches.

"**I will rip you to pieces Night Fury!" **roared the Green Death before he started spitting fire into the skies.

"**Not before I kill you!" **shouted Toothless flying above and over the fire evading it.

"**You are a fool just like your brainless leader!" **shouted the Green Death.

"**Die! Die! Die!" **Toothless shot after each shout furiously hitting three eyes out of six blinding them.

"**Worm!" **and the Green Death flapped his large leathery wings catching Toothless in an explosion of wind which sent him out of control towards the beach. Toothless realized then that Hiccup had been right. He was not enough to even kill one of those monsters.

"**Toothless!" **he heard Hiccup's voice, but that was impossible. Thornado had taken him towards safety, **"Toothless!" **then he opened his eyes and saw the boy trying to lift him up on his thin arms.

"**You shouldn't be here…" **Toothless said and was ready to claw the boy's face off when they heard a thunderous sound.

"**Green Death! I am going to kill you old bastard!" **the Red Death came in crashing into the beach and roared.

The storm finally arrived to Berk and released a torrent of hail. This infuriated the two Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus even more before they started tearing at each other.

The ocean was tainted red with their warm blood.

Flesh and scales that could cover grown men fell all over the beach and forest.

The earth shook with their bone shattering roars and they sank their cruel claws into each other.

And a young boy saw it all frozen in fear as he held to his small and injured dragon for dear life.

Many years after when Hiccup was an adult and finally able to tell the story without reflecting the fear he had felt at that time (but still very alive inside of him) he would come to best explain what he saw with the following words.

"It was like having my own and personal Ragnarok"

And many laughed at this thinking he was simply exaggerating, like it was usually done in Viking tales. However, when they saw Hiccup's serious expression they would become silent. Only when everyone was silent, then he would continue to tell his first and probably one of his most terrifying adventures.


	17. Selfish Dragons and Destiny's Calling

Chapter 17

The Hairy Hooligans had seen many odd things during their wild and adventurous lives, but nothing like the dark cloud that was flying straight their way. At first they had no idea how to react other than keep going forwards. It was only once they were closer that they realized that what they were seeing wasn't a dark cloud but thousands of dragons fleeing Dragon Cliff.

"**Hurry!"**

"**Leave if you want to live!"**

The dragons screeched as they passed zooming around them. None miraculously crashed into the Vikings; they wanted to leave as soon as they could even if it meant passing the chance of hurting the dragon riding Vikings that were flying towards Dragon Cliff. The Vikings of Berk flew as fast as they could toward Dragon Cliff unsure of what they would see. The earth shook tremendously all the way back to their village. The air had become warm even though there was still hail falling, this only added to the bad omens. Stoick the Vast was ahead of the group with narrowed eyes trying to see any sign of his son.

What they saw when arrived to Dragon Cliff was the end but nonetheless gruesome. They watched in horrified silence the last desperate moments of the two Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus. The forest that surrounded that beach was almost entirely gone from the torrential of fire they had been spitting at each other, the sea and the land continue to shake as they used their large claws to carve into each other opening wounds which led rivers of blood flow and bathe everything. For the first time, it was too much blood even for Vikings.

All were in trance, dragons and humans alike for exception of a few. Stoick was looking for his son but could see him nowhere. Just as he was about to despair he heard his old friend shout.

"There he is!" shouted Gobber before Stoick looked up and saw his own Monstrous Nightmare fly towards them carrying his son and some of the other teens in the tribe. It had to be a miracle from the gods for his son barely had a scratch on him. He just looked very scared and in shock, but who could blame him.

Once they were all reunited they continued to watch the two great beasts kill each other. Neither one of them would win, Hiccup thought as he watched the beasts stumble around each other clumsily. This was the last round and both of them had horrible wounds through their massive bodies.

With a final launch the Red Death wrapped his strong jaw around the Green Death's throat and squished hard ready end it all. The Green Death's throat was filled with his own blood as he gargled a curse in Dragonese before using his large claws to rip into the flesh of the younger Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus. Both dragons didn't let go to the very end to their credit, and as soon as it had started it was over. Their bodies crashed into the waters creating a gigantic tidal wave that would have soaked everyone had the dragons not gone higher.

"Are they dead?" someone asked in the crowd breaking their long silence.

"All of you stay here," said Stoick before he went along with Thornado to check.

It was the longest five minutes in the Hairy Hooligan's history. Stoick checked the lids of the dragons, looking directly into their dead eyes, that their chest were no longer rising, and he even dared touch one of them to make sure there was no heartbeat. Only after that did he go back.

"They are both dead," he said. A moment passed before the Vikings were sure they hadn't misheard.

"They are dead!" and then they celebrated "Hurray!"

And soon all the dragons and Vikings were shouting and celebrating for exception of two.

"What's wrong Hiccup? Do you feel unwell?" asked Fishlegs when he saw his friend watching the corpses of the dragons.

"He is not dead" Hiccup said before Toothless took off from his arms to fly closer to the beasts.

"What do you mean? Your father just…" but Astrid stopped when she heard a massive and dark dragon chuckle.

One by one the Vikings stopped laughing and watched as the Red Death lifted his massive head and turned to watch them. It seemed he had just been resting, but their shouts of glee had woken him.

"**You…" **said the Red Death looking directly at Hiccup, **"you…" **

"**Me…"**

"**You are next," **the large dragon breathed out, **"little human" **the great beast stood and made his way painfully towards them. His eyes never leaving Hiccup, **"I remember now, the dream and you knew it too. Only one of us was meant to come out alive of this for this is our destiny, and I will be the one to laugh last"**

"Hiccup, what is it…" but the words died in Stoick's voice as the dragon sneered at his son and no one else.

"**Hiccup? You are Hiccup! THIS IS DESTINY AFTER ALL!" **the dragon shouted as blood oozed from his large jaws. It was as much as his own blood as the Green Death's.

"**You are already dying! What is the point?!"** why wouldn't he just die! He was half dead already, it didn't matter what the Red Death did; he was still going to die!

"**The point **_**Hiccup"**_ he spat his name in disgust** "is that destiny had all of this planned way longer than even before you or I were born. Of this, only one will come out victorious and the one who does is destined to rule it all"**

"**You are insane!"**

"**So what if I am! I am still going to kill you and all of those that you love!" **and then he launched at the petrified Vikings.

"**Retreat!" **shouted Hiccup in Dragonese before the dragons snapped out of their stupor and ran away towards the village as fast as they could.

Hiccup was the only one that dared to look back as the large beast trampled the forest to catch up with them. The Green Death had left his wings damaged beyond healing but the beast was still fast on land even though he was limping.

"**There is no point in escaping! I will find you wherever you go and leave a trail of death as I do so," **then he spat a great ball of fire that flew over them and landed in the woods ahead igniting them at once. This made the Hairy Hooligans split in two groups.

"Don't let anything happen to him!" shouted Stoick at Thorch as they got separated. Thorch was falling behind because of his injuries, but the brave dragon didn't complain even once and continued as fast as he could.

"**All of those deaths will be your fault and your fault only!" **shouted the Red Death as he turned to follow Hiccup.

It was true. The Red Death wanted to kill him more than anything, if he gave himself up then he might give up on the rest of the island and just die.

"Hiccup, don't listen to him," he heard Astrid say behind him, "I don't know what he is saying, but just don't listen to him" she didn't miss with every growl of the beast Hiccup became more tense.

"Ye…Yeah, we will just keep going around until he tires and dies" said Fishlegs behind them both.

"You are right," said Hiccup turning to offer them both a smile, "thank you" and before they could react he stood up, jumped over them and off Thorch towards the dragon. He knew the Red Death would refuse to die until it had him.

"HICCUP!" his friends shouted as he fell, only to land on the open paw of the Red Death.

"**Take them out of here Thorch! There is nothing you can do to save me!" **Hiccup shouted at the dragon that was ready to turn around to rescue him. However, the Monstrous Nightmare didn't leave, but hovered not too far looking for an opportunity to save the boy who in his opinion was as stupid as his father.

"**Destiny favors me" **chucked the dragon.

"**I don't believe in such thing," **said Hiccup taking fast breaths.

"**Then you are a fool," **and the Red Death followed to toss him into the air much like someone would so with a grape and followed to open his gigantic jaws to catch him.

A second passed, then two and the Red Death wondered if the boy had been smaller than he thought.

"**Not today you bastard!" **then the Red Death saw a smallish black dragon using all his strength to keep the boy in the air. Toothless used all of paws to hold to Hiccup as he flapped his wings frantically.

"**A Night Fury? Here?" **the Red Death said in amazement before narrowing his eyes, **"you are just as dead as him!"**

Before they could react the Red Death gave a magnificent leap (which they hadn't expected of him because of his limp) and swallowed them both.

"No!" Astrid and Fishlegs shouted as the Red Death started to laugh, but then than laugh turned into a retching cough.

As they had been looking down at the mouth that was going to swallow them Hiccup couldn't help to notice something he had seen in himself while looking at his reflection. A pinkish u shaped piece of flesh in the back of his mouth, grey in the case of dragons. He had asked his mother what it was when he had been little. She said it was called the uvula and to be careful not to touch it or he would be throwing up. He never tried it, but saw it was true as he and Toothless held to it for dear life as the Red Death coughed violently.

"**Of all the stupid things you could have done you stupid human you had to pick jumping into the open claws of this thing!" **Toothless said just above him as he too held for dear life.

"**No one asked you to try save me" **growled Hiccup; if he was going to get eaten at least he could make sure everyone else was safe **"why the hell did you catch me? You are not even big enough to lift a sheep! If there is someone here that is stupid, that is you"**

Hiccup realizedthis was the oddest discussion he ever had in his life. Really, how many could say they had a discussion with their dragon as they held to the uvula of a Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus.

"**I only did it because you came back to the beach as if there was something you could do against a Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus" **Toothless sneered, **"I didn't need your help!"**

"**Right, since you were doing just fine!" **Hiccup shouted. He couldn't he had been so worried for this jerk **"you were almost out of shots. I had to try something!"**

"**I wouldn't have needed to do that if someone hadn't almost gotten eaten!" **shouted Toothless.

"**I didn't ask you to save me!" **and he heard the little dragon open his mouth and close it again. Hiccup waited for the retort but it never came. It was then that it occurred to him that Toothless had tried and succeeded on saving his life without an excuse for doing so, **"why did you save me?"**

While he waited he realized they weren't completely blind even though now the Red Death had his jaw closed as he tried to reach them with his tongue. He looked down to the back of the throat of the beast and there he saw a small flicker of fire burst and die just as fast. Hadn't they been facing the worst imaginable situation he would have thought it very interesting.

"**SHUT UP BOTH OF YOU!" **they heard the Red Death shout at them, which shook the uvula even more than his coughs.

"**Who is going to make us!" **shouted Toothless.

The Red Death growled even more in frustration before he opened his large jaws and using a prodding claw tried to reach for them.

"**Way to go genius" **growled Hiccup thankful that the Red Death had a rather long snout and couldn't reach them.

"**Shut up, you are supposed to be one with the ideas" **Toothless said climbing a little higher.

Beyond the claw and the moving tongue of the beast, passing his incredibly large fangs they could see the grey sky. It didn't look so far, but they knew that even if they made it outside they would be killed as soon as the beast saw them.

"**What is that smell?" **asked Hiccup before looking down. He could see some sort of greenish gas come out near the flicker of fire. Hiccup saw that the more gas there was, the bigger was the fire. This gave him an idea which was rather crazy but he had no other, **"follow me on this one" **he whispered to Toothless before pointing down.

The Red Death had never felt so much frustration in his life as he did now. Those two just refused to die, and at top of that they thought nothing of having a discussion inside of him. The outrage! Then the worst imaginable happened… they started to laugh and make fun of him from inside of his own mouth!

"**You are so stupid!" **

"**The worst Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus ever!"**

"**You are a disgrace!"**

And so on and on; the Red Death was ready to rip his own throat as long as he could reach and kill them.

"**As if you couldn't breathe fire!"**

"**Toothless!"**

"**What? Oh shit!"**

The Red Death chuckled and then opened his large jaws before he started to accumulate the biggest blast of fire he had ever created. Not more than two seconds later he saw the small dragon come out carrying the little human as fast as he could. However, the Red Death wasn't worried. The Night Fury wasn't fast enough as he carried weight to take him out of range of his shot. The green gas started to spill on the side of his jaws, this one would be for the records.

"**Now!"** and then the Red Death saw the small dragon turn around with a shot of his own ready and spit it right into the already large mass of very ignitable gas he had gathered.

The last thoughts of the beast were '_**Destiny, you are such a bitch'**_. And then he exploded.


	18. Many Other Things that Happened After

Hiccup saw the beginning of the explosion and realized that he was going to die. They were still too close to the beast and if something didn't knock them off the sky then the fire would swallow them and burn them to a crisp. Then all went dark and he could feel an incredible wave of heat around him.

"**Hold on!"** he heard Toothless shout as he felt as if they had been thrown by a jotunn.

"Hiccup!" he heard Astrid, Fishlegs and even Thorch shout but soon their voices faded away. Only two seconds later he felt as if they had been swallowed by the sea. Toothless un-wrapped his wings from around him and he saw they were at the bottom of a body of water. At once they started to swim towards the top and when they broke to the surface Hiccup realized they had not landed on the sea, but a small and forgotten small lake.

"Destiny…" he whispered to himself, for this was the very same lake that he had dreamt of when Toothless woke up in his home.

They floated in the small lake for a while without a word. They were too tired to even bother swimming to the rim. It wasn't long before Stoick the Vast and more of the Hooligans found them.

"What do you think you are doing boy! Get here at once!" shouted Gobber the Belch before they started swimming towards them.

However Stoick the Vast did not wait and entered the water before he took his son in a great embrace.

"Don't ever do something like that!" shouted Stoick, though he had a very strong feeling this wouldn't be last time.

Hiccup didn't remember much of what happened after that. He was exhausted and so was Toothless. He imagined he had fallen asleep on the way back because he woke up until the night time. He spotted Toothless sleeping on his stone slab with a full basket of fish for him to dig in once he woke up.

Everything hurt as he sat up, but at least he was alive, he thought with a smile…or was he dreaming? He shook head, he knew he wasn't. He hoped he wouldn't be dreaming for quite a while.

"Thank Thor you are awake," he heard his grandmother say as she entered the room with a cup of warm tea, "your father will stop nagging me every few minutes now"

"Is it really dead?" he asked with fear in his voice.

"As dead as anything can be after exploding," she chuckled as she handed him the cup, "drink, you will need to get your strength back soon"

Hiccup felt his insides go cold, "am I still banished?"

"Of course not!" laughed the old woman, "your father had you and your accomplices all un-banished as soon as they were all back to the village. The rest of the tribe is in the great hall celebrating, though you young ones don't have much to celebrate for tomorrow"

"What do you mean?" he asked worried.

"Bits and pieces of that thing rained all the way here and guess who has to clean it"

"You are not serious" he said in misbelieve, though inside he was as happy it was only that.

"Your father's decision," she said before leaving.

In the great hall the Vikings and even the dragons celebrated with high spirits. On a table, on his own with his dragon was Fishlegs eating to his heart's content. He couldn't believe it was over, and to sum it up things would go back to normal the following day.

"Can I join you?" asked Astrid from across the table holding a plate.

Or maybe not everything would go back to normal.

"Of… of course!" he said offering a nervous smile.

"Do you know if he is okay?" she asked as she sat.

Fishlegs didn't need to ask who she was referring to. She had been a bundle of nerves since they watched Hiccup and Toothless get catapulted by the strength of the explosion.

"Elder Gothi said he was just tired. It was a miracle they found him in one piece"

"Yeah…" she said relaxing a little.

"**This girl can't stop fretting, she is worst than a mother hen," **said Stormfly to Meatlug.

"**I still can't believe we did that" **said Meatlug, **"you were very brave taunting that thing like that"**

"**I think the bravest was Thorch, did you see him…"**

"What do you think they are saying?" asked Astrid when she noticed the dragons speaking to each other.

"We could always go and ask Hiccup" said Fishlegs, "though I doubt he is looking forwards to speaking to dragons for a while"

And both started to laugh. They had a really odd friend.

Meanwhile, in an adjoin room of the great hall Stoick the Vast, leader of the Hooligan tribe was anything but happy. What he felt was more along the lines of wanting to cut off the heads of about half of his council, specially the head of Spitelout Jorgenson.

"It is the law! An ancient and sacred law at that; no man or child who speaks Dragonese is allowed in this island" he shouted drowning everyone else's words, which was not a game that you could win with Gobber the Belch.

"A LAW THAT COULD HAVE GOTTEN US KILLED HAD WE BANISHED HIM!" the old warrior's face was red with rage. Stoick made sure to place a hand on his shoulder to keep him from launching at Spitelout, even though he wanted to see him spitting his own bloody teeth as much as Gobber.

"He is right Spitelout," said Stoick in a commanding voice, "had it not been for Hiccup we would all be dead by now"

"You don't know that," sneered Spitelout, "we could have…"

"What? Serve as appetizers?" said Gobber.

"That's enough," Stoick commanded, "we are not going to banish my son. We owe him this much and more and I won't hear another word" and then he left.

Gobber however stayed and once he was sure that Stoick was out of earshot he said the following to Spitelout.

"I admit your son has the makings of a strong Viking but he is as rotten as they come" and he made sure to continue before Spitelout could interrupt him, "and I will train him just like any other Viking of this island for benefit of the tribe, but don't think even once that I, as long as I am alive will allow him to harm Hiccup or become chief of this tribe"

"Are you accusing us of treason?" most were aware of this, but didn't dare to raise their voices.

"Maybe I am, maybe I am not" shrugged Gobber, "all I am saying is that I am watching you, and that if you know what is good for you, you will watch your back Spitelout Jorgenson" and only when he saw the other man seething with rage did he leave. He would let the rest of council deal with him; they deserved it for being a bunch of cowards.

Outside the great hall Stoick stood at the gates with an almost empty mug of mead. He decided it was going to be his only one that night because as soon as he was done with it he would go home and see his son. He turned his eyes to the night sky, something that he secretly had loved to do with his wife.

"Chief," he turned to see Asmund Hofferson come out of hall holding his own mug, "can I have a word with you?"

Stoick had an idea of what Asmund wanted to talk about, so they walked towards the edge of the village where they would not be heard by unwanted ears.

"Are you sure? Astrid is the most promising shield maiden we have seen in a long time" Stoick had hoped Asmund would change his mind.

"It's what she wants, but I wanted to ask you; for she does not know what awaits her, if she was to return…" Asmund didn't finish his question. He knew that it was something Stoick could not allow. Not when Big B was involved.

"I will try if the time ever comes," he said taking Asmund by surprise. He had almost lost his son that day, if there was a chance he could help Asmund, he would take it.

"Thank you," was all Asmund could say before he turned and left. He couldn't let his chief see him shed a single tear.

When Asmund made it home he went to get some writing utensils and started the following letter with shaky hands.

_Estimated Big-Boobied Bertha, Chief of the Bog-Burglars_

_I write this letter to inform that Astrid has proven she is worthy of…_

Stoick finally made it to the door of his home, from where he spotted his dragons resting outside.

"What are you two idiots doing there? Come inside"

"**We were waiting for you, you lumbering idiot" **said Thorch under his breath.

"**Stop complaining, I don't think he is upset with us for helping the kid" **said Thornado.

"**He would be an even great idiot if he was. The kid would be dead if it hadn't been for us" **

"Shush you two," said Stoick as he opened the door and let them in first. The first thing they did was go to the hearth where Toothless was already resting in front of. Not long after they found a large basket of fish in front of them, "ehm…" started Stoick awkwardly, "thanks for looking after Hiccup"

The dragons were speechless for a moment before they bowed their heads slightly in acceptance.

"Well, that's a first," Stoick turned his head to watch his son come out of his room alongside his grandmother, "hi dad"

"Son…" and he felt relief all over again, now at seeing his lopsided smile.

"Come you two, you have barely eaten all day" Gothi said before she had them sit and served them some good homemade cooking.

Hiccup couldn't remember having such a nice dinner before, at least not after his mother was gone. They barely spoke, but it was not an awkward silence. It was peaceful and happy because they still had each other. The peaceful evening eventually drew the dragons into slumber. They snored softly by the fire, with thin tendrils of smoke coming from their nostrils. After their fulfilling meal Gothi served them a special kind of tea to calm their nerves, otherwise she knew they would never get to sleep. However there was no tea in the world that would appease the following situation.

It all started with a question.

"What is a Night Fury?" it came from Hiccup, of course. The two Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus kept calling Toothless that and he decided to try his luck. Well, his luck had run out.

"What did you…?" Stoick started to shout and turning red on the face, but thankfully Gothi had more common sense.

"Shh, you!" she said before looking pointedly at the dragons that thankfully still slept, "Where did you hear that?" she whispered to him worriedly.

Hiccup was at loss for a moment, and then without realizing he gave them a half truth "The two Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus…"

"A friend of theirs probably," grumbled Stoick in a very dark humor.

"I think it was the opposite," Hiccup said as softly as he could.

"More than likely," said Gothi with a thoughtful look.

"What are you talking about?" Stoick did his best to not raise his voice, but it was clear that he was outraged by that statement.

"Oh please, just because your father told you what his father told him, it doesn't mean that is the whole truth" Gothi did the best she could to not roll her eyes at him.

"How dare you" whispered Stoick angrily.

"Don't get your knickers on a bunch," she said, "tell your side of the story and then I will tell the rest"

"Alright, I will…" and he took a deep breath before he started, "our ancestor Grimbeard the Ghastly," he paused proudly "the one to snuff out the dragon rebellion, caught up to it just in time because it was his own dragon that started it all. He didn't have a Monstrous Nightmare, but a Night Fury"

"A Night Fury…" so Toothless was going to actually grow some more, though why he was thinking this instead of worrying about having a Night Fury was as odd Gobber taking a bath without being dragged by half of the village.

"Yeah, the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself, and more important of all… a treacherous no good reptile" Stoick looked at his son deeply in the eyes, "and worst of all, he made Grimbeard's own son an accomplice. This is the reason why speaking Dragonese is forbidden. Had he not known Dragonese he wouldn't have believed the lies that demon was feeding him"

Hiccup gulped audibly and did his best to not look towards Toothless.

"Are you done?" asked Gothi who was getting a little tired of Stoick's dramatics.

"One more thing," he told the old lady before turning back to Hiccup, "I know you have a gift that has saved us today, but don't forget this; Dragons can't be trusted"

Hiccup could only nod.

"My turn then," she said as she stood and went to get more of her own calming tea, "now mind that my version is a little longer, though a little similar to your father's" she took a sip of her tea, "the first dragon rider, and your ancestor as well, did it on a Night Fury. At that time dragons and Vikings were at constant war with each other but for some reason these two became companions. It had something to do with defeating a Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus. At first it was not widely accepted but once they saw the incredible team they made the others came around. For quite a few generations dragons and Vikings lived in peace with each other. This was around the time the first dragon manual was written and that dragon riding became something of a norm among all tribes. It was indeed a great Viking age"

"Get on with the betrayal," grumbled Stoick. He too had heard of that great Viking age, but had his doubts since it involved Vikings and dragons trusting each other.

"For a long time Night Furies were the dragons the chiefs of our tribe rode and no other tribe had them. However, and don't you dare interrupt me Stoick, the Vikings forgot that the link they had with the dragons came from trust and not out of ownership. Over a few generations the dragons started to be treated much like we treat them today"

Stoick grumbled something under his breath, but neither could make out what it was.

"It's said that Night Furies were the smartest dragons, so it's not a surprise that the one that came to plot the rebellion was no other than Grimbeard's Night Fury, and yes, he convinced one of Grimbeard's own sons to join him. As you know, Grimbeard stopped them and he paid a very high price for it. It's because of this dragons can't be trusted, not because they are born like that, but because dragons can hold grudges for a very long time"

There was a long silence after that, only interrupted when they drank from their tea.

"So… there are no more Night Furies?" Hiccup asked looking down at his cup.

"They left the Viking archipelago," Gothi said, "and they swore they would never return. Or at least this is what I was taught, not that we would know what one looks like anyways. All the information we had on them was on the old dragon manual which burned during the Fire-worm rebellion"

"I still think they burned it on purpose" added Stoick, "but it's just as fine. It will keep us on our toes"

"Yeah…" said Hiccup looking at his dragon from the corner of his eye. His heart stopped for a moment when he noted Toothless picking at them silently before closing his eyes again.

88888

THIS ISN'T OVER!


	19. Just the Beginning, Epilogue, and Sequel

Hiccup thought his bladder would burst. He drank as much as he could of his grandmother's tea, but he could not relax enough to fall asleep. His mind kept going around the things he had learnt that night, and what he already knew about his dragon. He almost had a heart attack when he heard scratching at his door.

"**Let me in human, or are you scared of little me?" **Toothless chuckled from the other side of the door.

Hiccup was speechless for a moment, but then stood up and went to open the door. The small dragon was sitting and giving him a curious look.

"**I thought you would never open," **and he went in and then to lie on his stone slab after heating it.

"**Is it true?" **Hiccup asked still standing by the now closed door.

"**What is?" **asked Toothless as he closed his eyes.

"**Are you a Night Fury?" **and the name was fitting too; the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself.

"**Yes, what of it?" **said Toothless picking at him uninterested.

"**What do you mean 'what of it?' You are…"**

"… **a treacherous no good reptile? Yeah, I heard your father, though the idiot should not speak if he doesn't know the whole story, though your grandmother did an okay job of it. Still, she missed a few things"**

Hiccup opened his mouth to ask what, but then closed it.

"**So you won't listen to **_**my**_** side?" **he asked with a soft growl.

"**I shouldn't speak to you anymore" **Hiccup said more to himself than to the small Night Fury.

"**You are going to give me away then?" **not that he would have any trouble escaping if he did so.

"**No, I can't" **Hiccup sat on his bed facing the small dragon.

"**Why?" **he asked curious.

"**You saved my life" **and he did it without any excuses, which had to mean something.

"**What if is all part of my diabolical plan to start another dragon rebellion?" **his dragon chuckled.

"**You don't care for another dragon rebellion" **Toothless was as selfish as they came, he knew him well.

"**That is true, but why take the risk?" **

Why indeed, thought Hiccup looking at his dragon yawn. Toothless really didn't care for his answer, but now that he had imposed the question Hiccup couldn't help asking himself the same.

"**What happened?" **Hiccup asked after a while.

"**Huh?" **Toothless was already falling asleep.

"**Your side of the story, what is it?" **

"**I am tired, I will tell you another day" **he said closing his eyes again.

"**But…" **he felt the answer was on his side of the story, he had to now.

"**It can wait" **said Toothless closing his eyes.

"**It can't! You are the one who brought it up, now you have to tell me" **Hiccup stood up and started his way to the dragon.

"**I thought you didn't want to speak to me anymore" **said Toothless not bothering to open his eyes.

"**Fine, don't tell me" **Hiccup grumbled before he went to lie on his bed.

After he was under the blankets and the room had warmed up from Toothless body heat, only then did he start to fall asleep.

"**He cut his tail fins," **and he wasn't sure if it was part a dream or if Toothless had finally come around to tell him, but he knew this was just the beginning of his side of the story.

8888

"Alright you wannabe Vikings! You break it, you clean it!" shouted Gobber the belch waking more than few people early in the morning.

"It was Hiccup!" one of the teens shouted.

"Yeah! He was the one that blew up the dragon… wait, actually that sounds cool"

"I don't care! Get cleaning!"

The following day the young trainees of the Hooligan tribe were up and about clearing the village of dragon entrails. Though they could be called heroes, they still had gone behind the backs of their elders, and had to be disciplined.

"Sorry girl, but that's just too high for me to reach" said Fishlegs as Meatlug reached for a rather large piece of flesh which hung from a roof, "I can't believe they are making us clean this mess" said Fishlegs in disgust as the large piece of flesh landed next to him.

"Hey, it could be worse" said Hiccup loading a cart with more remains of the Red Death.

"Actually you are right," Fishlegs laughed. It would a long time before they could complain about anything.

"You two done chatting?" Astrid asked as she with the help of Stormfly carried what seemed to be a part of a rib towards the cart, "we could use some help"

"Coming!" the boys shouted once they saw the size of the bone, it was a miracle it hadn't killed anyone.

"Where is your dragon Hiccup? Is he hurt?" asked Astrid after they were done loading the piece of rib.

"He is not a morning dragon," Hiccup said trying to laugh, but even he knew it sounded awkward.

"Hey Useless!"

All three turned to look at Snotlout march towards them followed by Dogsbreath. The rest of the teens who had heard stared in surprise. None of them Snotlout would be back at it so soon.

"You lost the bet, you have to clean my dragon's stable" Snotlout declared.

"He lost nothing Snotlout," said Astrid stepping forwards, "back off"

"Says who!" growled Snotlout in very bad mood. The previous night had been hell for him. Everyone wouldn't shut up about Hiccup and how he had saved them.

"Me!" said Astrid ready to knock him off his feet and plant her foot on his ribs. But he was ready and with a swift movement pushed her so she would fall on her behind.

"Like you could stop me" he said marching towards her. He had enough of her disrespecting him.

"**Pig face!" **Stormfly went to stand on his way. But this only made Snotlout even angrier and grabbed the Nadder in a head lock and squished until she was squawking in fear.

"Call your stupid Nadder off before I _accidentally_ kill her" he said still holding the struggling dragon.

"You wouldn't dare!" Astrid was on her feet at once; hand on her axe ready to hurt him if he dared hurt Stormfly.

"You think?" he laughed maliciously.

"**Like you would know anything about thinking!" **they heard a screech before a purple shot of fire landed at Snotlout's feet catching his boots and trousers on fire.

This, of course made him release Stormfly that jumped to stand next to Astrid.

"Who did that!" he shouted as he hit his pants and boots with his hands to kill the fire.

"**Who do you think?"** but of course none could understand but Hiccup. He turned to look at his dragon sitting on a branch laughing his little behind off, **"does anyone else smell pork chops?"**

All the dragons that had heard the joke started to laugh.

"Control your dragon Useless!" snarled Snotlout as the small dragon cracked another joke at his expense. Even Hookfang was chuckling.

"**Do you want to stop?" **asked Hiccup trying to hold his laughter.

"**Not really" **said Toothless.

"Sorry, can't do" said Hiccup with a shrug.

"Why the hell not!" demanded Snotlout.

"Because he told me he doesn't want to and I don't know if you have noticed but I kind of chose to train my dragon the hard way"

"**Hahahaha!" **laughed Toothless. He decided that he liked this human very much and would stick around for quite some time.

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Some parting words from our hero:

_**I wonder had I known the true meaning of my words that day, would I have taken them back? Now as an old man and one of few remaining Viking heroes I hope not. My life would have been so much duller. I know I called my old bud a rude, selfish and self-centered reptile, but in reality he was a bunny hearted jerk. He never explained to me why he saved me from both Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus, but even now I hope it was because he considered me his friend. **_

_**The Red Death and Green Death were just the beginning I am afraid to inform those who are tired of my rambling; this old man still has a lot more to say before he kicks the bucket.**_

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A month after…

Hiccup walked the streets of his village well after his curfew. His heart was hammering in his chest as he imagined lurking figures in the shadows. This was not something he ever did, but he had to be there or she would be really upset at him.

"Shh…" a hand covered his mouth, "don't scream or you will wake someone up"

"Astrid," he sighed in relief when she removed her hand. He turned around with a smile that quickly faded, "where are you going?" she was carrying a large pack with her. He had noted she had been acting a little strange the past few days.

"That's why I called you here tonight, follow me" she grabbed his wrist and dragged him towards the port.

Hiccup followed without complain. Over the past month they, including Fishlegs, had become good friends. He trusted her, though the large pack still worried him. Finally they made it to the beginning of the pier where he spotted the boat of another tribe, one that was meant to be prohibited from touching Berkerian soil.

"We have to tell my father…" he stepped back.

"They are here for me," she said gripping his wrist harder. She wanted to tell him that his father knew, but it would be unfair of her to place the chief in that situation. She still held firm respect for the man.

"What? Why?" he turned to look at her with a sinking heart. He had a very bad feeling about this.

"We will always be friends, right?" she offered a smile, though Hiccup could see there was fear there as well.

"Please tell me why" he pleaded shifting his eyes from her to the boat waiting for her.

"I can't, not right now" she released his wrist, her spirits sinking. She had hoped he would understand.

"Then when?" he asked her; it felt as if his heart was being ripped out. She had become more than his crush, she was his friend.

Astrid stopped; she had no idea when she would see him again and under what conditions "you trust me, right?"

"I do, but…" she cut him off.

"… then know that you will have your answer, hopefully soon" and then she leaned forwards, placed a chaste kiss on his lips which only lasted fraction of a second, "I will see you again Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the III, don't you dare forget me" she said with red cheeks.

"I… I won't" he said as she turned and walked towards the ship.

"Good," she said though she didn't turn around. As she walked away he watched her stop a few time to rub something away from her eyes.

He watched in utter silence as she handed her pack to someone, it probably contained everything that she owed and then climbed aboard. Stormfly was already waiting on the deck of the ship for her trainer. He felt as if his legs had turned to stone when he realized she was not turning around. It was finally when the boat started to leave that he snapped out of his trance and ran to the end of the pier.

"Astrid!" he shouted not caring who heard him.

Astrid ran to the back of the ship and watched as Hiccup waived his arms in the air.

"Don't you forget me too!" he shouted still waving his arms.

"I won't you…!" but the words were stuck on her throat so she waved goodbye frantically until he could no longer see the boat and she could no longer see the pier.

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MORE TO COME SOON, PLEASE REVIEW!


	20. Arc 2 A Young Hero Must Start Somewhere

**ABOUT TOOTHLESS' SIZE**

A few days ago **kitty.0** asked me about Toothless' size because he was able to wrap his wings around Hiccup to protect him of the explosion, and this got me thinking and then searching. I had an idea, and even a picture in my mind but it was not all clear. Eventually I was able to explain to **kitty.0** and even to myself. I want to share with you what I answered because I think it will help get a better idea of the Toothless in this story for everyone.

**Right now Toothless has a wingspan of 3.5 meters (about 11 ft 6 in)**

**Now, if we compare this to the wingspan information given to us on Night Furies found in the ever so wise wikipedia, which is 14.63 meters (48 ft)**

**We can say that Toothless is a little less than a fourth of his movie size. (or 24% if you want to be specific)**

**If we want to go a little further even and get his length, which at movie size is 8.5 meters (27 feet), counting the tail, his current length in the story is of 2.0 meters (6 ft 6in).**

**Again, this is also counting the tail which is about half of his length, we could say that Toothless now is 1.0 meter (3 ft 3in) in length if we don't count the tail.**

**He is not small enough to stand on Hiccup's arm, but is able to place both back paws on his shoulders and carry him for a short period of time.**

**Since Toothless body is lower to the ground when standing on all four paws he does not look too impressive until he decides on stand on his back paws, which makes him reach about Hiccup's shoulder.**

Now, let's move on with the story.

8888 HOW TO BE A PIRATE (the hard way, of course) 8888

One day, old Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the III was cleaning his attic. It was filled with a lot of things he had collected over his many years of life. Most of all was useless, not even worth as antiques. The only reason why he kept them was because of sentimental value. He 'cleaned' the attic every few years now, but what he did mostly was find old things that he had all but forgotten and remembered his many years of adventures. In a particular occasion he found a small chest. He couldn't recall where he got it from for some reason. He was never the type to go for something so small. If you were going to risk your life for a treasure, might as well do it for something much bigger than this. The small chest could be carried easily under one arm, and had a key hole. Unable to help himself, he chuckled and took the small chest out of the attic and brought it to his kitchen table.

"Let's see…" it had been some time since he picked a lock, but he was sure he still knew how. It took him a few minutes to pick it, and what he found inside was worth much more than any treasure he had ever found. He found the letters he had written to a dear friend of his when he was still very young. He realized the reason why he didn't recognize the chest. It was hers. He never imagined she would save those silly letters.

He opened the first of the neatly arranged letters and read…

"…_the other day a lot of crazy things happened, crazier than usual. Though Fishlegs and Toothless were there to help me, I still wished you had been there as well. Not just because you are brave and strong, but because I miss you a lot. Laugh at me and call me soft if you must, but this is the truth. Anyways, this all started with another one of Gobber's crazy ideas to teach us piracy. Though is summer still, the sea and the wind was restless…"_

Ah, he remembered now. He picked the small chest and set it at top of a small table which sat right next to his comfiest chair. He followed to get comfortable and continued to read.__He had forgotten all about this, and felt a little silly and even older because of it.

_**When I wrote these letters I was still a young boy, very impressionable and just about every new thing I discovered both frightened and amazed me. Now at my old age I can only live those feeling most of the time through my memories. However, there is nothing like one of your must frightening, perilous, and first adventures to remind you that your old and hardened heart was once tender and very gullible. Once you hear this old adventure of mine, you will understand why I feel so silly at having forgotten it. After all, how can someone ever forget his first archenemy and treasure hunt?**_

Chapter 1: A Young Hero Must Start Somewhere

"C'mon you mollusk! We don't have all day!" shouted Gobber the Belch over the roaring sound of the waves so many decades ago.

Though summer was their favorite season, it wasn't without issues. The sea and the wind were restlessly jerking their long boat all over the place. The salt water splashed their faces mercilessly, and the wind and warm sun dried it leaving their skins cracked with salt.

"Ruffnut! Tuffnut! The oars are not to hit each other! Get back to your places!" shouted Gobber "use both hands Fishlegs! Wipe that smirk off your face Snotlout!"

Hiccup wondered if what happened about two months ago had been just a dream, because he felt as if he was still waiting to be accepted into his tribe. Everything felt about the same. Snotlout was still picking on him; though now he was without mercy since Astrid was gone, he was still terrible at being very Viking like; though at least his father accepted him a little more, and his dragon still had little to no respect for him. At top of all, they still had quite a few years to go before they completed their training all together. It already felt like an eternity. Then he looked back to their island and saw the giant bones of the Green Death resting in between the sea and beach. Nope, it hadn't been a dream.

"Stop day dreaming Hiccup and row!" shouted Gobber.

And they rowed and rowed until their island was out of sight and their arms felt as if they would fall off. Above them their dragons flew in lazy circles chattering with each other. They looked quite happy at having some time for themselves.

"**You call this an adventure? Chasing sheep is more fun than this!" **complained Toothless loudly as he sat next to Hiccup's bench.

"**Then why don't you go with the others and have some fun," **Hiccup whispered exasperated, **"I told you that you didn't have to stay on the deck"**

"**I don't feel like it," **he yawned before he rested his head on the deck.

"**Then stop complaining," **muttered Hiccup before giving an exasperated sigh.

"STOOOOOP!" shouted Gobber, "this is the place!"

Hiccup wondered how he knew _this_ was the place; after all, they could only see the sea everywhere they looked.

"Now on to the next part of your pirating training, though how you got this far in my opinion is a miracle!" Gobber missed the Hofferson girl. In situations like these he could always name her as the exception, but not anymore.

"Yeah, almost getting eaten by not one, but two mountain sized dragons is a true miracle," whispered Fishlegs who was sitting next to Hiccup. Hiccup didn't reply and Fishlegs noted curious and worried that his friend actually seemed to be looking forwards to this. This couldn't be good.

"You will practice your sword fighting in a moving vessel" Gobber started.

"Big deal, I will just beat everyone again!" laughed Snotlout, Hiccup's cousin and the current bane of his existence.

"For those who are too stupid to understand," continued Gobber as if he hadn't heard Snotlout, he knew the boy was skilled but that didn't mean he had to like him, "fighting while in a moving vessel is harder than fighting on land because for once you are limited in space, as well are at the mercy of the sway of the waves"

"That actually sounded smart," said Fishlegs before Hiccup elbowed him lightly; "alright, alright" Fishlegs sighed.

However he was actually happy to see Hiccup looking forwards to something. The past few weeks he had been a just been moping around. He would be lying if he said he didn't miss Astrid too, but he believed and was almost sure that what Hiccup felt for her was more than friendship. It was a big mystery what happened. One day Astrid Hofferson was just suddenly gone. It seemed the only ones to know where Astrid had gone were her family, Hiccup, and probably the chief, but all of them were very tight lipped.

"Alright, the first one will be… Dogsbreath," said Gobber before the brute of a boy stood up and unsheathed his nasty, uneven sword. Just by looking at it, anyone could guess that getting just a little cut from it would probably lead to a severe infection.

The large boy laughed, though to must it sounded like a dragon having a coughing fit. Dogsbreath was one of the strongest, most violent of the boys, and the one with the least brain, which was a rather dangerous mixture. Adding to that, he followed everything that Snotlout told him and you had a disaster just waiting to happen.

"I don't think so Dogsbreath," said Gobber handing the boy a wooden case, "if I let you idiots to your own devices you all would be dead in less than a minute. Now, who wants to challenge Dogsbreath?"

Now that was an interesting question.

"I have a healer's note!" shouted Fishlegs waving his piece of parchment, "Dogsbreath has to stay at least five feet away from me or I will get a rash"

"Me too!" shouted Ruffnut, "but my dragon ate my note!"

"And my sister ate mine!" shouted Tuffnut before getting hit with an oar.

"Anyone else has a stupid excuse?" asked Gobber rolling his eyes at them.

"My sword is bent!" shouted Speedifist.

"I have a stomachache!" called Heather bending over.

"He ate my cat!" whined Wartihog.

They were Vikings, not stupid… or at least most of them.

"I will go!" shouted Hiccup standing up.

"Are you mad!" Fishlegs tried to pull him down, but Hiccup wouldn't have it.

"Get him Dogsbreath," whispered Snotlout to his ever so loyal lackey who sniggered.

"Oh," was all Gobber could say for a moment, "alright then" he said a little unsure.

Hiccup unsheathed his sword and just about everyone gasped. At once Hiccup felt pride, not just because he had a great sword but because it was of his own making.

"Huh," Gobber recognized the work as his apprentice's own. He had been wondering what he had been doing in his spare time those past few weeks, well, besides mopping around.

The sword was magnificent, made of the shiniest and purest metal they had ever seen (Gronckle iron). It wasn't too long or too thick which was just perfect for Hiccup. At top of that it was very light, though not light enough to be knocked off his hands easily. The handle was a simple black but with very detailed carvings on it which reflected silver when the light hit it just right.

"Nice sword Hiccup!" shouted Snotlout, "did your girlfriend give it to you before she dumped you!"

"She is my friend," said Hiccup not losing a beat, "and she also taught me some moves"

Snotlout sneered. Leave it to Hofferson to still be a thorn on his side even after she was gone to who knows where. Well, fancy sword or not he would make sure to take advantage of this opportunity. He raised his arm discreetly as Gobber explained the rules, and soon Hookfang was flying alongside the boat.

"Don't mess this up or I will turn you to boots," he whispered to his dragon before looking pointedly at Toothless, "wait for my signal"

"…biting, scratching, and name calling are encouraged" Gobber continued explaining the rules, "first to faint, fall off the boat, cry for his mummy, or shout uncle loses"

"Yeah, yeah," said Dogsbreath who hadn't listened to a single word. He only knew that he had to hurt Hiccup very badly.

"Got it," said Hiccup taking one of the basic stands Astrid had taught him '_see? You are not completely hopeless' _he remember her saying when he got the stance right the first time.

"**Just don't get yourself killed"** yawned Toothless.

"**Thanks for the vote of confidence you evil reptile," **hissed Hiccup before accepting the wooden case from Gobber.

"**You are welcome stupid human," **said Toothless resting his head again on the deck, but made sure to keep one eye open and on the boy. If it was out of curiosity or worry, he would never admit it.

"I really hope you know what you are doing," said Gobber after shuddering from hearing Toothless talk. He really would never get used to that demon.

I think I have gone mad, thought Hiccup before something caught the corner of his eye, and he knew it was trouble.

8888 Astrid and the Bog-Burglars Part 1 8888

"She will see you in a moment. Remember that you don't speak unless you are spoken to, answer her questions and you will be fine" a Bog-Burglar she had come to known as Groa told her. She had been the only Bog-Burglar that had spoken to her since she boarded their ship a few days ago. She didn't make polite talk, or say anything about her self, and was very straight forwards. Astrid thought she was cool.

She watched as the woman set a pitcher with wine on a table near a mighty chair along with a golden cup only fit to be drank of by a king, or in this case a queen.

"Is Big Boobied Be…"

"You will call her Chief Bertha if you know what is good for you" said Groa bringing a plate of fruits and placing it near the pitcher "don't say anything about her chest unless you want to get smothered by _them_"

"Got it" she had thought that was just a rumor.

"Any questions before I go?" asked Groa after taking a look at her handy work.

"Is she…I mean, is Chief Bertha…" she felt silly losing her words in front of the woman. Though no one could blame her, she had been waiting for this all her life.

"Don't get your hopes up child," said Groa looking down at the small girl, "she is a very stern woman"

"Understood," she said remembering her father had said the same.

"Alright, stand straight, keep your hands where she can see them, and…" she offered a kind smile, "good luck child"

Groa then left with her long auburn braid trailing behind her. Astrid was left alone in the great hall of the Bog Burglars. She didn't even get to dwell in her thoughts before she heard voices approaching.

"And make sure she does not escape, well escape sooner than it can be helped, after all she is one of us" a strong commanding female voice said.

"Yes Chief Bertha" someone answered confirming Astrid's suspicions.

"Is the girl in there?" Astrid felt her whole body go rigid when she heard her ask just a few paces away from the doors of the hall.

"Yes Chief Bertha, Groa's ship was spotted arriving not long ago"

"Good," said Bertha pushing the double doors of the great hall open, "tell the rest I don't want to be interrupted"

"Yes Chief Bertha," answered the younger shield maiden before taking a peek at Astrid, and then left hastily.

"You can bet everyone will know how you look like before the night falls" laughed Bertha before noticing the girl wasn't either laughing or smiling, "so, you are Astrid"

"Yes Chief Bertha," said Astrid in the same respectful tone she had heard the other shield maiden use.

"Asmund wasn't lying when he said that you learn fast," she offered a smile but Astrid felt no comfort from it, "we might just be able to make something useful out of you"

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PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW

ALSO!

I decided to do this story in arcs, (it has nothing to do with me not knowing what to name the new story), to keep the whole story in one place. More importantly, none of you will have to go searching for the sequel or anything like that. Everything will be always posted here.


	21. Brain vs Braun and Some Sword Fighting

Well, the boy had grown somewhat, thought Gobber, not physically of course but in character. Not that anyone could notice but he saw some confidence in the boy where once there was none. He held his sword acceptably, though he still looked uncomfortable. Gobber imagined that this was due to Hiccup not being violent. He and everyone watched as the two boys prepared themselves in their own way.

Hiccup was evaluating his surroundings to make best use of them and his adversary. The boy was a strategist, which Gobber knew quite well. After all, how many people can say they tricked two Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus into tearing each other apart? Thought this was okay, it was not necessarily all good for sword combat. The old soldier remembered the many times when it all came down to reflex and pure gut feelings.

Dogsbreath was the complete opposite; he was all instinct and no brains. He wondered if there was at least one thought in the boy's mind that wasn't about killing, destroying, or hurting what was placed in front of him. He was actually eyeing Hiccup like a dragon eyed his prey. He had thought the wooden cases lame for a very long time, but today he decided to make an exception.

"Go!" Gobber shouted hoping not to regret allowing this fight.

"Ahhh!" shouted Dogsbreath at top of his lungs as he charged straight forwards and swung his sword down with a force that could have knocked Hiccup out hadn't he simply turned his body to the side. The sword encased in wood hit the hard wooden floor of the ship sending a tremor through Dogsbreath arm, which was actually painful to the large boy, "You!" the beast of a boy who wasn't used to pain, of course got furious.

"My turn," said Hiccup before making his move.

"There is no taking turns in sword fighting!" shouted Gobber.

Hiccup ducked under Dogsbreath's rising arm sword and hit him on the back of one of his knees, which made the large boy stumble for a moment. This made him even more furious.

Hiccup could hear the cheering of the others, but paid them no mind. His eyes kept darting from his opponent to a sneering Snotlout who was still whispering to his dragon. No one else but him had noticed this. He had a very bad feeling about it. Still, he did his best to concentrate on Dogsbreath's brutish attacks. They were all vertical or horizontal attacks, or sometimes he would reach to grab him, but it was all too easy to read for him.

At top of that, because of his small size he had more mobility around the deck of the ship. Had his balance been better he would have taken advantage of the banisters to move freely around the ship and tire the other boy.

"Now…" sneered Snotlout before Fireworm ducked down and flew out of sight to the back of the ship where Toothless was watching the so called Viking fight with one eye slightly open.

He was thinking that the boy was doing okay, for being a human of course, against someone so much bigger than him. Not that he would ever admit it to the boy. Then, suddenly he felt strong jaws sink into one of his back legs. He screeched catching everyone's attention before snapping his neck to look back at Fireworm who had a smug smile. The Monstrous Nightmare was perching on the back of the ships banister looking down on Toothless.

"**That's how a real dragon's bite feels like," **he claimed still bitter about the painful gum filled bite Toothless had given him a few months back.

"**Son of Jormungand!" **screeched Toothless before he jumped, surprising Fireworm, and then sank his gum filled bite on one of Fireworm's wing joints.

"**MONGREL!" **growled Foreworm as he raked one of his claws on Toothless flank. It wasn't deep, but the droplets that fell to the wood enraged Toothless.

Toothless hissed before scratching the other dragon as well. Soon both were wrestling in the back of the ship screeching more insults at each other.

"For the love of the Thor!" shouted Gobber before going to separate the dragons when he saw all the kids entranced at seeing two dragons fight; incredibly enough, it wasn't something that it was seen every day.

Snotlout took this as an opportunity to remove the wooden case of Dogsbreath's sword.

"The useless is making fun of you," he whispered to the other boy who had also been distracted by the wrestling dragons, "are you going to let him get away with it?"

"No!" shouted Dogsbreath, warning Hiccup that the fight was still on. He rolled to the side just in time to see the uneven sharp of Dogsbreath's sword slash through the air.

Hiccup watched as Dogsbreath tried to pull his sword out of the wood, not realizing the sword was no longer in its wooden case. It took Hiccup a fraction of a second to realize that he was in true danger.

"Dogsbreath! Your sword…" but he didn't get to finish. The infuriated boy reacted to his voice and swung a heavy fist in his direction catching Hiccup on the side of his head. The force sent him flying all the way to the head of the ship before he hit his head on one of the banisters. Equally bad, his sword flew off his hands and landed somewhere among the unused seating.

His head spun and he felt sick. He had to close his eyes for a moment to keep the throbbing of his head from making him throw up. Thankfully he regained his bearings just in time to hear Dogsbreath running towards him with another blood curling scream.

Hiccup scrambled forwards, going between Dogsbreaths legs before hearing the sword sink into the wood. He scrambled to the unused seats where he searched for his sword. He had to put something between his soft flesh and that illness covered sword.

This hadn't definitely been one of his best ideas. Had he paid mind to his gut feeling when he saw Snotlout whisper to his dragon he would not be in this situation. It was all because he wanted a little of spotlight when he had already learned a long time ago that being in the spot light was the worst thing he could do. Why, even his dragon thought so too. All of this happened because he let his pride get the best of him. Just because he had a nice sword it didn't mean he could beat Dogsbreath, not even if he had learned a few fancy moves from Astrid. With his luck, the best he could hope for was not to get killed.

"I WILL KILL YOU!"

Yeah, definitely not one of his best ideas…

"Stay still!"

He ducked still searching for his sword.

"Not going to happen!" he shouted over his shoulder before hearing the sound of the blade cutting the air. He stepped to the side as the disgusting blade sank into the wood.

"Get him Dogsbreath!" shouted Snotlout unable to believe Hiccup was that good at dodging. This caught the attention of everyone back to them, for exception of Gobber who was still trying to separate the two dragons.

What they saw was a swordless Hiccup as he scrambled for his life; it wasn't cool at all.

"Stop Dogsbreat! Your sword is missing…" Hiccup tried again but was over-shouted by Snotlout.

"Get him!" shouted his cousin as his face started to turn red with fury. Why couldn't the shrimp stay still!

Fishlegs had been frozen just as the rest, but Snotlout's shout snapped him out of it. He noticed the sun reflected off Dogsbreath's sword; the blade was bare, and that Hiccup kept trying to find something around the unused seats. He knew exactly what he needed to do and knew he wasn't going to like it. He grabbed one of the shields that hung on the side of the ship and with his strongest blow threw it towards Dogbreath's head. His aim failed and hit him instead on the shoulder, but it did the trick just the same. Dogsbreath turned away from Hiccup and glared like a mad man at Fishlegs before charging towards him.

"Wait, I thought we were allowed to cheat, but isn't that like cheating on cheating?" asked Tuffnut to his sister, who instead of answering simply pulled her brother down as Dogsbreath jumped over them towards Fishlegs.

Everyone tried to scramble away as Dogsbreath started to chase a high pitched screaming Fishlegs.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you…" Hiccup kept saying as he searched for his sword before he found the familiar handle and pulled it out. But, as soon as he had it he lost it again.

"I will do it myself," Snotlout sneered as he pulled Hiccup back by the neck of his vest and placed the sharp of his sword against his freckled cheek.

Gobber was still trying to separate the dragons and everyone else was trying to get away from Dogsbreath as he launched at anything that moved. No one could help him.

Of all the ways he could die, this had to be the one. He was raised to be a Viking, and to a certain point he was not afraid of death. However, he hated that it was Snotlout who would give the final blow and get away with what he wanted; destroying and tarnishing all he cared and loved in the way. He imagined his father, grandmother, and even Gobber despairing, Fishlegs bullied and probably later banished or killed, Toothless caged and miserable, and then he thought of Astrid who would learn that he had failed to keep his promise of protecting their tribe from his cruel cousin. It made him sad and so much angrier. In the spur of his momentary rage Hiccup kicked with all his strength and connected with Snotlout's shin. Hiccup's foot hurt horribly, but it did the trick.

"Ouch!" Snotlout shouted and dropping Hiccup who fell on his bottom. He reached for his sword and took it out the wooden case before he pointed it up, one touch away from Snotlout's throat.

"You are too much of a coward" he said trying his hardest not to gulp as he felt the small prickle of Hiccup's sword point on his throat.

"Is that really what you think?" Hiccup said doing his best not to shake. If he did this, then maybe his life would get so much better… but this wasn't him! And he cursed inside his own mind at his weakness (or so he thought at that time). He was ready to pull his sword back when he noticed Snotlout was looking up, his mouth wide open. Hiccup turned and saw that their rivalry would have to wait for another day.

Pulling the boat into her innards was a gargantuan wave. Their ship tilted as they were pulled up and soon all the fighting stopped and they were all holding to the ship for dear life. In one amazing and agonizing moment they stood on the crest of the wave.

"I am king of the world!" they heard someone shout, but it didn't matter who.

A moment later it all crashed down. The monstrous wave threw a heavy object into the middle of their ship which broke it in two and soon they swallowed by the violent waves. For a few horrible seconds Hiccup didn't know what was up or down. His body tumbled in the water and he was almost out of air. Just as his last breath escaped him, he felt a strong grip on his shoulder before got pulled up. He coughed before looking up at Toothless who flew just above him.

"**Thanks,"** and then coughed. The water was still restless but it was better than being under it, **"have you seen Fishlegs?"**

His friend didn't know how to swim, so he was terribly worried.

"**Shouldn't you be more worried about yourself?" **Toothless said tiredly. He was also cranky because he had been winning his fight against Fireworm, but thanks to that snoopy Viking he didn't get to finish what they started.

"**Go find Fishlegs, or at least have Meatlug do it. He doesn't know how to swim" **Hiccup said still out of breath.

"**What type… oh! Whatever!" **all of Hiccup's friends were weird; he didn't see the point in questioning it anymore.

Hiccup in the meanwhile had no idea what he would do. He could hear the other trainees spread over the waters and Gobber somewhere in between trying to have them all swim towards him. It was going to be impossible to get back home from this, he thought as his limbs started to get tired. Then something bumped into him. At first he thought it was debris from the ship, but found something much larger and without his knowing, dangerous.

8888 Astrid and the Bog Burglars Part 2 8888

Bertha woke up earlier than usual, dressed and went to the barracks of the young shield maidens in training with a naughty smile on her face. The poor things had no idea what was going on when Bertha kicked open their door.

"We are under attack!" she shouted in a shrill voice that had them in less than a second running over each other in panic.

"OH FREYA! WE ARE UNDER ATTACK!"

"WHERE IS MY SWORD!"

"THAT IS MY SHIELD!"

"EEEEEENOUGH!" shouted Bertha before they all stopped dead on their tracks, "this is very disappointing! Had this been a real attack you all would already be dead. For punishment," she proclaimed, "you lot will start the day by running to the well and back with buckets of water ten times" they also needed to fill the baths that day, but everyone hated that job.

"Yes Chief Bertha," they all said in various degrees of shame before they started to get dressed for the day.

Then Bertha noticed something, "where is Hofferson?"

The petite blond was nowhere in sight, actually her bed was already made. All the girls shrugged. They hadn't noticed Astrid was missing until then. She was very quiet, which made her pass unperceived most of the time. This was the key depiction the Bog Burglars had for the once young Hairy Hooligan. She never talked back, ate her meals by herself, and to Bertha's annoyance was very talented but never bragged. She couldn't help to be terribly reminded of Asmund.

After making sure the rest of the girls started with their punishment Bertha went to look for Astrid. She asked around but none had seen her. She wondered if she had changed her mind and had gone back to Berk, but quickly dismissed the idea when she found her Nadder sleeping on the dragon stables, a basket with poultry already waiting for her when she woke up. The girl had been here.

"I guess Hooligans aren't as undependable, right Chief?" said the main stable care taker, her name was Isgerd.

"She has Bog Burglar blood," was her cold response, and cursed Asmund in her mind.

"My apologies," said the stable keeper, "still you have to admit she is an early riser. She was waiting for me to open the stables with her basket already at hand"

"Do you know where she went?" asked Bertha glad to finally have a hint of where the girl had gone.

"To the training grounds," said Isgerd, "she also had her axe with her"

Bertha nodded before turning to the training fields. She had well in mind to give the girl a punishment… though she was having trouble figuring out for what reason. She was taking care of her chores early and practicing; maybe for being absent from her so called drill? When she made it to the training field, which was a large piece of grassland where all Bog Burglars practiced their weapon skills, she saw no sign of Astrid.

"Good morning Chief Bertha!" called Groa as she ran to her sweaty, dirty and very cheery, "are you looking for that little one?"

"Have you seen her?" Bertha tried to ignore the fact that Groa got along quite well with the girl. Groa was one of her best, so she hoped she wasn't going soft.

"Yeah, she was here a while ago but when Hekja spotted her, she made her help carry some baskets to the kitchen. I think she might still be there" she said looking towards the main kitchen of the Bog Burglars.

She nodded before she proceeded to the kitchen. She found Hekja, the head cook and once one of the best warriors in the tribe; now she was old and with graying hair. She always made sure to take advantage of the youth of their tribe to help her in the kitchen; still she didn't spot Astrid anywhere.

"If you are looking for that walking disaster, I sent her to chop some wood" said Hekja before Bertha caught sight of a half burned would have been stew.

"Walking disaster?" that was the first time Bertha heard someone refer to Astrid like that.

"Yeah, child couldn't even peal a vegetable to save her life, less alone cook it. Since she seemed so handy with the axe, I sent her to chop some wood" she pointed to another door from the kitchen which led outside, "at least she is good at that"

Bertha didn't waste any time and went through the door to the back garden where the wood was chopped and some vegetables were grown.

"Ha!" she stopped dead on her tracks and watched as Astrid threw a log into the air, swung her axe, and cut the small log exactly through the middle twice, "Ha!" she did it again, "Ha!" and again without missing a beat. Just about all the wood they would need in the kitchen for the week was already cut. She bet Hekja wouldn't be complaining about Astrid any time soon.

"Astrid!" she called which startled the girl making her miss her mark. The log fell intact to the grass.

"Good morning Chief!" she said turning, her axe dropping to the ground.

"You missed one," she couldn't help pointing out.

"I am sorry Chief Bertha," the girl blushed truly embarrassed.

Bertha was at loss with this child who tried so hard. When she had arrived and seen her small frame she had expected a timid, weak, and cowardly girl. She admitted to herself, she had even expected her to be kind of stupid, but the girl was none of that.

"Make sure to finish the wood here, and then join the rest of your group at the hall for breakfast," said Bertha before turning to leave.

"Yes Chief Bertha!" called Astrid before going back to the remaining wood. Bertha picked for a few more second to watch her finish the small piece of long and then left. As she walked back to her home she cursed Asmund again for training the girl to be so good, or maybe she had made a mistake when she let her go.


	22. A Lovely and Playful Lady Called Destiny

That day started beautifully. It was the type of day where you would never expect something too out of ordinary to happen. Even old Gothi thought so as she sat in the great hall playing Hnefatafl with one of the few old people that still lived.

"Beautiful day; isn't Mildu?" she said cheerful to which the old man only grumbled as he tried to find a move to keep Gothi from winning, again.

It was a shame that Hiccup and the other young Vikings were away in training. The rest of the young were given the day off and were either swimming at the sea, or playing bashy ball. Even the dragons were having a day off and rested at top of the roofs lazily sharing dragon gossip.

Actually it was a very peaceful day all over the Viking archipelago, all for the exception of a small boat full of Vikings in training and on a shore of the island of the Meathead tribe. Some hours ago a group of Meatheads threw a wooden box into the sea and shouted quite a few curses at it from this shore.

Said box was very sturdy and large; it was actually a very nice box. The reason why it was thrown had nothing to do with it being too nice, but more because of its content. The Meatheads hoped that said box would sink soon and even some of the gods agreed with them. They shook the waters soon after the box was out of sight from the island. The box had to sink and so the gods threw large waves at it, but the box was too nice and it wouldn't break. Eventually, as they had dreaded, the box reached a small Viking boat carrying nine young Vikings and their instructor.

"Dammit!" cursed Aegir, the old god of the sea before his wife Ran soothed him.

The box broke through the middle of the boat before sending the passengers into his restless waters.

"You tried your best," said Ran, but this did not comfort her husband.

Then they watched as the box reached a small Viking boy. They both held their breaths when they felt something was going to come from this meeting, though even they had no idea yet what it would be. For now they would watch.

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Hiccup still had very high doubts that something as absurd as destiny existed. Even at his old age he doubted it, though a little less. Destiny to Vikings in that time was synonym to greatness and adventures. To young Hiccup, who spent more time than most thinking about this, it meant that no matter what he did, he would never have a say in his life. Also, it meant that all his accomplishments (though few), they were not achieved through his efforts and sacrifice but because destiny willed so. Destiny stripped him of his pride, strength, bravery and made him a simple peon in her game.

Destiny chose a few unfortunate souls and made them go through hardship and heartbreak, then lied to them and the world as she turned them into so called heroes. None of them had a say on this. They were her prisoners. She hid behind her veil of luck and coincidences as she played them into another expedition… maybe the last where they would die a heroes' death. But death was death, not that it should be feared for all die eventually, but death was not a place most wanted to reach any time soon if possible.

This was more than cruel to him. This is the reason why destiny was nothing but a bitch to him and he wanted nothing to do with her. So, he buried in the back of his mind all those little things that were connected to her. What were the chances of him finding a Night Fury as the heir of the tribe? What were the chances of him meeting the same dragon he met in his dreams? What was the chance of him landing in the lake he also dreamt about at one point in his life? All those things were locked in the back of his mind, but sometimes he would pick at them and feel fear. If destiny was behind this, then what did she have prepared for him next?

At the time that a large wooden box bumped into him in the sea, just as he was tiring, he didn't think it was destiny. The message this time was very subtle, though eventually he would come to question his own luck. The large box of six by three feet floated rather innocently. He was quick to grab to it before climbing to its safe surface.

"Help!" he heard his friend Fishlegs shout before he spotted an oar floating nearby. Without thinking he took hold of it and started rowing towards his friend. Soon he found Toothless and Meatlug trying to keep the larger boy up but the young dragons were tiring fast.

"**Here!"** he shouted before the dragons started to pull Fishlegs towards the box.

"Thank Thor you are here," he sighed collapsing at top of the box unceremoniously; "I thought I was going to join Ran in Hel!"

"**Ahem…"**

"Thank you Meatlug, Toothless" he added sheepishly before Hiccup started rowing again, this time following Gobber's shouts.

"**I thought you Vikings were supposed to make the best boats and be the best sailors" **said Toothless mockingly as he followed them slowly.

"**I don't need to hear this right now" **Hiccup said rowing faster.

"**I am just saying" **added the dragon teasingly.

"**Well, don't! If you hadn't been fighting with Hookfang, then maybe Goober would have noticed the wave," **and notice that Dogsbreath was a boar's hair close to killing him. He was going to have nightmares about this.

"**Now this is my fault?! As if that brute could have done something about the wave or that stupid box which broke the ship" **

But who was to say the boat would have survived the wave anyways, Hiccup wanted to say before he spotted their teacher and the other seven members of the trainee program.

When Gobber saw them, he relaxed. He had found all the kids for exception of those two.

"Don't take your sweet time next time!" he shouted at them before they helped with the task at hand.

The teens had gathered some pieces of wood remaining from their boat and tied them together to form a raft. It was lucky (or maybe not) that Hiccup had found the box because they couldn't all fit on the raft. Speedifist and Heather joined them at top of the box before they started making their slow way towards their island.

They spent the trip mostly silently, taking turns rowing. Then Heather broke the silence after remembering that not too long ago they had almost died a very violent dead at Dogsbreath's hands, all thanks to them.

"I should be hitting you with the oar," sneered Heather to Fishlegs as she took the oar from him, "you almost got us killed by Dogsbreath" she sneered to Hiccup.

"I am sorry!" said Fishlegs shrinking back, "I didn't know what else to do. He was about to kill Hiccup"

"What was all that about anyways?" said Speedifist as he sat on the back of the box, "His sword didn't have the wooden case"

"To put it simply," sighed Hiccup, "Snotlout"

"You are just jealous," said Heather, "after all he is stronger, and braver than you"

"Yeah, that must be it" deadpanned Hiccup, "it has nothing to do with him wanting to become the next chief and me being the only one in his way"

"Whatever," she said before continuing to row.

Hiccup wanted to throw his arms into the air in exasperation. The hard earned respect he had gotten a few months ago was all but gone at that time because of his failure to fight off Dogsbreath. He remembered his sword and unsheathed it so it would dry. He didn't want it rusting.

"Did Gobber make that for you?" asked Speedifist looking closer at the craftsmanship. It looked a little like one of his father's swords, though the detail on this one was not something he could imagine Gobber making.

"I made it," Hiccup said remembering the many days that he had pondered in the design alone.

"Liar," they heard Heather whisper but they paid her no mind.

"I haven't seen metal like that before" it shone brightly under the sun, "where did it come from?"

"It's a trade secret," said Hiccup trying to not look towards Meatlug. The only other he had shared this with was Fishlegs, after all, it was his dragon.

"Meaning that he has no idea," Heather said again from her place. This time Hiccup simply rolled his eyes.

"You know, we could always send you to the raft so you can kiss Snotlout's…" started Speedifist

"Speedifist!" shouted Hiccup.

"What? She is being a complete jerk with you. Everyone knows Snotlout is after you and that he will doom the tribe if he achieves it"

"But…" maybe he hadn't lost all the respect he had earned until then. Speedifist was smarter than the other boys, for exception of him and Fishlegs.

"But nothing," Speedifist sighed, "she has been like this since Astrid left. Now that she is gone she thinks she has chance with Snotlout, and not even out of respect. She only wants to become the wife of the next chief"

"Oh," Hiccup did notice the raven haired girl did hang out more with Snotlout since after the defeat of the two Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus, but didn't think it was because of that reason. She had always stood in the background when it came to the girls. Astrid had been the brave and strong one, Ruffnut was the violent and fun one, and Heather was that other girl who was also a good fighter, but not as good as Astrid, and also could be violent though it was usually out of anger instead for the heck of it like Ruffnut.

"**Aren't you slow," **Toothless said from above them.

"**No one asked your opinion," **said Hiccup before standing on the wooden box and walking towards Heather.

The girl stiffened the moment Speedifist mentioned her plan. She had thought she was being very sneaky. She wondered what Hiccup would now do.

"It's my turn," he said before she handed him the oar and he started to row.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" asked Heather after a few seconds of silence.

"What can I say?" he said as he kept rowing, his eyes ahead looking directly at the raft where he watched Snotlout with narrowed eyes, "please don't stand up for Snotlout because he is a pompous, snake hearted, selfish jerk? You are not going to listen to me anyways, so why bother"

Heather opened her mouth to call him something awful, but stopped when she realized he would not take her seriously. She was actually right. To him she was now nothing but an attachment belonging to his cousin, just like Dogsbreath.

"Land!" shouted Fishlegs breaking the silence before they spotted their island.

Hiccup rowed faster, not caring that his arms were killing him. He wanted to get away from Heather and everyone else for a while. It had been a maddening day and he just wanted to forget it. Go for a long walk in the forest to watch some wild dragons in that beautiful day sounded like the perfect plan.

As soon as they had pushed the box into the beach he took a deep breath. Things had to get better from here on.

"Hiccup!" shouted Fishlegs before he turned "look!"

Fishlegs was still hovering over the box. He had almost forgotten about it. Heather and Speedifist were also looking at the box with concern and more than anything excitement. When Hiccup saw what the box said, he understood perfectly why.

**DO NOT OPEN**

The thick letters were burned into the wood.

As a young Vikings, Hiccup could understand why they looked so excited, but his rational self wanted more than anything to push that box back into the sea. He should have.

8888 Astrid and the Bog Burglars Part 3 8888

When she had arrived to the island of the Bog Burglars she had felt afraid because everything was so different from Berk. The Bog Burglars worked with each other in perfect harmony. There were no silly rivalries or anything of the sort. They were one tribe dedicated to protecting each other. She doubted that she would fit. She was used to competitions, of shoving others into the mud and trampling over them. She was truly afraid and more so after she had met Big Boobied Bertha. She was the largest woman she had ever met, as tall as Stoick the Vast and almost as wide. However she did her best to hide her fear. She did so by doing her best and not getting into trouble, which as it turned out wasn't so hard.

The other girls didn't pay her much mind. They didn't treat her completely like an outsider. They didn't ask her any questions about where she came from; actually they tended to leave her alone. None of them were hostile to her, well that was until that day.

She had woken up earlier than any of them as usual and was about to get ready for the day when she felt strange. It was very odd because she couldn't realize what it was. She decided to rule it as paranoia and put on her clothing. Then she reached for her sleeping braid to undo and brush but found nothing. She turned her head to one side and then the other looking for it, when she found nothing she touched her head and followed the now loose tendrils down. They stopped at the nape of her neck. Her long hair was gone.

She grabbed her mirror and looked at herself. Her head looked like a bird's next. It was not cut, but chopped unevenly all over the place.

She was close to shrieking, but covered her mouth just in time before looking at the other girls who shared the barracks with her. All seemed to be sleeping, but she was sure the perpetrator was waiting for her reaction with closed eyes. Her own eyes were stinging with unshed tears. It was just hair, but it was her hair; one of the few shallow things she took care of. Still, she wasn't going to give anyone the pleasure to hear her cry. She finished getting dressed as quietly as she could, grabbed her axe and left the barracks to go straight to the stables.

She was thankful Isgerd got up a little earlier to leave the stables open for her. She ran as fast as she could to Stormfly's pen, unable to hold the lump on her throat anymore and collapsed against her dragon's side before a wretched sob escaped her.

What had she been thinking coming here! She missed her friends and family so much.

Her crying woke up the sleeping dragon who noticed the change in the girl's appearance right away. Stormfly didn't know much about human females, but she was used to seeing them with more fur on their heads than the males. She was sure this was the reason why Astrid was despairing.

She crooned gently, **"I am here, and you are not alone"**

"**Thank you," **said Astrid in Dragonese, one of the few phrases Hiccup had taught her. She had no idea what Stormfly had said, but she bet it was to try to help her feel better.

After a while she fell asleep and she dreamed of her home in Berk, of waking in her old bed and then spending some of her free time with her friends. She dreamed of Hiccup and his awkward stance as she taught him some sword fighting.

"Child, you are going to miss breakfast" Isgerd shook her awake.

"Wha…" Astrid stretched her stiff limbs.

"Breakfast," she said trying to sound casual. She could see some redness in the girl's eyes, but she had come to understand that Astrid was tough girl, and would not appreciate being called on it.

"Sorry," she said standing and brushing the hay off her clothes. She turned to leave.

"Wait!" called Isgerd before she grabbed her wrist.

"What are you…?" Astrid glared.

"Let me help you with that," said the older woman looking pointedly at Astrid's messy hay tangled hair.

"I don't need your help" she snapped back. If there was something she could not stand was pity.

"But you do," sighed the woman, "look, I am not going to mother you, but at least let me fix that. It's not even"

"Fine…" grumbled the girl before following Isgerd outside. She sat on a stool before Isgerd started to work on her hair.

"Soooo… do you know who?" Isgerd asked as she brushed the hay out of Astrid's hair.

"No, but when I do I will make her wish she was never born"

"I hope you do," said Isgerd with a smile as she grabbed her shears and started to cut the uneven locks of hair out, "she didn't leave me much to work with"

"Is it really that bad?" Astrid tried to keep still, but she had to know how she looked.

"I wouldn't say bad, just different" said Isgerd

"Great…" Astrid knew that different wouldn't do her any good.

"Different isn't bad, unless you are going for bald. That would be bad" Isgerd laughed remembering the days when she was Astrid's age. They had done things a lot worse than this.

Astrid couldn't help to laugh. At that moment she didn't feel so lonely, and that things were not so bad.

"All done! A masterpiece even if I say so myself" Isgerd laughed softly before she handed her a mirror.

"So, what is the verdict?" Isgerd wondered if she had wrong idea. Astrid had been too quiet.

"I… I" she touched some of the locks to make sure they were real.

Astrid was speechless. She had expected that she was going to end up looking like a boy, but the hair cut Isgerd had given her made her look different, but in a good way. It was brushed to the side, and barely reaching to her ears in the front, but the back was made up of rebellious locks; they reminded her of Nadder's spikes.

"Thank you!" she turned and hugged Isgerd tightly.

"You are welcome!" laughed Isgerd.

Astrid believed at that time everything would be okay, but she had no idea that her life was about to take one of its greatest turns. After all, she still had no idea who had snuck in the complete darkness of the night and cut her hair without waking her or any of the other girls up.

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PLEASE REVIEW. I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE IT.


	23. When a Box That Says Don't Open Opens

_**DON'T OPEN**_

And right below that.

_**Curse those who dare open this coffin, **_

_**For here rests the remains of the greatest pirate **_

_**The Viking archipelago has ever known**_

_**Grimbeard the Ghastly **_

Hiccup felt a shiver run through his whole body. Grimbeard the Ghastly was his ancestor and the one to stop the dragon rebellion a long time ago. He was said to have been one of the greatest Vikings to ever live. A master swordsman, expert pirate and burglar, and a man with a terrifying temper (not to forget cruel and violent). He just couldn't see himself being related to him.

"Move aside useless!" Snotlout said as he pushed Hiccup to the side, "what is it?"

Or maybe he could, after all, Snotlout was his cousin.

"If you knew how to read you would know," said Fishlegs giving Hiccup a hand to get back up.

"Why would I read things I can bully losers into reading for me?" laughed Snotlout.

"It's a coffin," said Hiccup, "Grimbeards' coffin" he said staying a good distance from it.

"No way!" cried Snotlout, his eyes filling with greed. It was also well known that their ancestor had pirated more than any other Viking and had hid somewhere a great treasure. As soon as the other trainees heard the name Grimbeard they crowded around the coffin.

"It's probably filled with riches," said Ruffnut wondering if she would be able to buy her own island.

"Imagine all the gold we could buy with this gold! We will be rich!" said Tuffnut.

"Move aside you blubbering idiots!" shouted Gobber when he noted the children surrounding the box, "what are you loiter… in the name of father Odin! What is this!" he read the name on the coffin, and Hiccup could swear he thought Gobber's eyes were going to pop out.

"Grimbeards' coffin and I found it," said Snotlout puffing his chest.

"Isn't the box Hiccup and Fishlegs found?" he said looking at the other two boys who nodded grimly, "it must be destiny then that you found it! I am going to go tell Stoick. You lot stay here and make sure the sea doesn't pull the coffin back to the water" then Gobber left as fast as he could to find the chief.

"We should just push that thing back to the sea," whispered Fishlegs to Hiccup, "it's bound to be full of deadly booby traps"

"Try telling them," said Hiccup looking at the rest who were trying to see if there was a way for them to open it, thankfully the top of the coffin was nailed shut to perfection.

Both of them collapsed in the sand and for a while they just watched their dragons fly over the beach, scaring some sea critters, and playing other dragon games. However, Hiccup could not stop thinking about the box. He knew there would be little to no chance of his father deciding to return the cursed thing back to the sea. Was he a coward for wanting to get rid of it, though it might hold a clue to Grimbeard's greatest treasure? Maybe, but the chances of it holding something truly deadly were higher, so why take the risk with the unknown… because they were Vikings, he answered to himself immediately.

Well, he admitted to himself, if people didn't take their chances with the unknown many things would have gone uncovered, though he was sure many didn't end well.

"…useless! I am talking to you!" he turned his head to the grinning Snotlout, "or have you gone deaf from the blow Dogsbreath gave you"

"You wish," said Hiccup doing his best to ignore Snotlout. He turned to look at his dragon who was trying to break his own speed record.

"You know, I heard Hofferson left because she was afraid," he taunted with a bilious tone but Hiccup didn't respond, he kept his face as impassive as possible "training finally started to get serious. She probably knew as a girl she would hold no chance against me"

"Hey!" shouted Ruffnut. Heather didn't say anything but tightened her lips. She would have beat on any other boy who said anything like that.

Hiccup glowered at his cousin, and clenched his teeth to keep himself from telling Snotlout what he knew. Astrid was not a coward, especially not because of someone like him.

"Oh, is itsy little Hiccup angry at me? I bet you don't even know where your little girlfriend went" Snotlout sneered, enjoying himself. It had been a long time since he had been able to get to Hiccup with words alone.

"I know," he said standing and glaring even harder. He knew where she had gone, but he didn't know why, and he felt that might be even worse.

"Then why don't you tell?" Snotlout jeered. He didn't believe Hiccup for a moment.

"She just couldn't stand your stupidity anymore," deadpanned Hiccup, "any more stupid questions?"

There was a moment when everyone in the beach just started at Hiccup dumbfounded, even Snotlout was out of words, but it only lasted for a moment.

"You little shit!" roared Snotlout before he reached for Hiccup's thin neck but he ducked and side stepped, "I should have finished you when I had the chance!"

"What was that? Is that a confession of treason I hear!" shouted Fishlegs as loud as he could as Snotlout tried to get hold a dodgy Hiccup. But Fishlegs' words fell on deaf ears.

"Puny wretch!" shouted Snotlout as he lunged at Hiccup once more, but the boy just jumped at top of the large box, "just because that wench taught you some tricks it doesn't make you any better, you are as useless as always!"

"Say what you want, but at least I am not a lying, cheating, and selfish snake" Hiccup said before Snotlout unsheathed his sword and swung it down over the coffin. Hiccup simply jumped back, and the sword embedded on the hard wood, "shoot!"

"It was his fault! Everyone saw it!" Snotlout said looking around at the rest, but none would agree or at least they didn't care to. Their eyes were set on the box, which started to move.

"Everyone! Stand back!" shouted Hiccup as the coffin shook more violently; Snotlout's sword un-wedged from the coffin and fell to the sand.

"We are so dead," said Fishlegs standing next to Hiccup.

Then the box exploded. Everyone had fallen on their backs, and as the dust cleared off they saw a tall, extremely strong looking, long bearded Viking with a blade for a hand standing where the coffin used to be.

"Grimbeard?" Hiccup heard someone ask, but he didn't believe it for a moment. There was no way his ancestor was still alive.

"Who was the idiot that swung a sword to my coffin!" the man shouted before everyone turned to look at Snotlout.

"I…" Snotlout watched the large man, who he presumed was Grimbeard stalk towards him. He started to scramble back but was not fast enough. A moment later the man had a foot at top of his chest, pressing him down to the sand.

"You could have killed me!" roared he man leaning down. His face, which once had been very handsome in the spring of his youth, was now covered with scars of many battles.

"ALVIN!" the great voice of Stoick the Vast boomed through the beach when he recognized the man that had pinned his annoying nephew.

"Stoick!" laughed the other man before he grabbed Snotlout by the hair and pulled him up, then in a swift movement he had the edge of his attached bladed brushing the throat of the teen, "what a coincidence to land in your island of all places!"

"Let the boy go Alvin!" roared Stoick.

"I think not," laughed the man drawing a small drop of blood from the boy's throat, "since you already know me, there is no point on playing the same game with you as with the other islands. So here is the deal, bring me a ship, supplies, I will take your heir with me and find Grimbeard's treasure. After that, I might let him live" he looked down at Snotlout, feeling sure this brute of a boy was the heir for he looked as bulky as Stoick had in his youth.

Stoick was very tempted to let him take Snotlout. He detested the boy almost as bad as he detested his own cousin (Spitelout), but he could not sacrifice another for his son, for this was not honorable from a chief.

But his son beat him to the truth, "he is not heir," said Hiccup stepping forwards, "let him go!"

"Those eyes!" said Alving with a sneer, "you are Valhallarama's brat, which means you are… hahahaha! STOICK! Your boy is nothing but a pile of bones!" what a precious surprise! "The ever so arrogant Stoick the Vast had a sardine for a son" Oh, this would make their deaths ever so more wonderful.

"You treacherous…"

"Save it Stoick! Boy come or are you afraid of your father's old pal?" Alvin called to Hiccup.

"I am not afraid, and I am also not stupid" Hiccup said standing straight, "let him go first, and then I will go to you"

"I am also far from being stupid boy, how do I know you won't just run with your skinny legs back to your father?" he tightened his grip on Snotlout, almost suffocating him.

"Do as he tells you…" Snotlout breathed out. He hoped Hiccup to be as stupid to do as the man said.

"Listen to him boy; you don't want innocent blood in your hands, do ya?" Alvin said before he tightened his hold even more and started to choke Snotlout.

"**Let him take the idiot," **Hiccup almost jumped when he heard Toothless behind him. He realized some of the dragons had landed after the coffin had exploded.

"**I can't do that" **whispered Hiccup back as he noticed Snotlout was turning an interesting shade of blue.

"**Why the Hel not? He kills Snotlout, then your father kills him and every will be happy" **simplified the dragon.

"**Shut up," **said Hiccup because it sounded so very tempting, but he had to forget it for what he was about to do, "fine!"

"Hiccup don't!" shouted both Stoick and Gobber.

"Good," Alvin released his hold on Snotlout somewhat, until the big brute was able to breathe again.

Snotlout took a large gulp of air before saying, "what took (gasp) you so long!"

"Silence!" said Alvin before Snotlout shut his mouth closed, "now come here boy, unarmed"

"**Try to follow us as discretely as possible and bring my sword along, alright bud?" **Hiccup whispered to Toothless as he dropped his sword on the sand along with his knife.

Bud? He wasn't his bud! But Toothless didn't say this, actually he said nothing. He hated this plan. He didn't see any worth on Hiccup risking his life for Snotlout of all stupid Vikings.

Once he was only a few paces from him, Alvin pushed Snotlout to the ground before landing a kick on the boys gut to keep him from trying to do something valiant. He didn't know that was not Snotlout's style at all.

Alvin took Hiccup by his thin bicep and dragged him back.

"Well, where is my boat! Believe me, you don't want me to take your son to this place at night time" laughed Alvin before Stoick ordered the boys to leave to get everyone to ready the ship and the supplies for Alvin. Not long after a ship was brought to them.

"How does he expect to navigate that on his own?" Fishlegs couldn't help asking their teacher.

"If someone can, that is Alvin" growled Gobber, who hated the man more than a dragon with a toothache. Alvin threw Hiccup into the ship, and joined him after a mighty jump.

"I will be fine!" called Hiccup to his father as Alvin released the sails and soon they were pulled into the ocean.

"Don't even think of following Stoick, or you won't ever see your boy in one piece!" shouted Alvin before he closed his blade close to Hiccup's face. Hiccup did his best not to show his fear in front of his father until he noticed his father looked as scared as he felt. This was a first. Who exactly was this Alvin?

As soon as the ship was out of sight, and sure Alvin wouldn't spot them, only then did Stoick start shouting orders.

"Everyone ready the ships! We have to catch up to them!" he shouted before everyone, some not as fast as they should, started hurrying back to the village. Then he noticed Hiccup's dragon still standing in the sand and watching the place where the ship banished, "come on Toothless, you too" but the dragon didn't even twitch "I am telling to come!" shouted Stoick.

Toothless then turned to look at him and Stoick was at loss of words. The usual indifference, cruelty, and smugness of the dragon were nowhere to be seen in his stare. There was only worry.

"Ehm…" Stoick kind of hated when dragon behaved otherwise from what they knew, it actually made him feel guilty shouting at them "he will be fine. You know Hiccup"

The dragon relaxed, but only slightly before nodding at the chief. Then he bent down and picked Hiccup's sword and dagger by their hilts with his front paws.

"What are you…?" Stoick tried to ask before the dragon made a sound, and he knew Toothless was talking to him.

"**I won't let anything happen to your stupid and selfless son," **said the dragon though he knew perfectly the man didn't understand him one bit. Before Stoick could say anything he took he off, flying so close to the sea that the water parted where he passed.

_**8888 Astrid and the Bog Burglars Part 4 8888**_

Astrid had expected that people would question her hair when she went into the great hall for breakfast, at least with their eyes, but it actually seemed like everyone was evading her the moment she went in. She wondered if maybe she had been wrong and her hair did not look as well as she had thought.

"Astrid!" she heard Bertha call her to the main table where only her and her best warriors ate together. As she hurried she noticed there was a girl sitting next to Bertha. She had never seen this girl before. The girl looked to be about her age, with long wild blond hair, and a smirk that made Astrid feel uncertain, "what happened to your hair?"

Astrid stared for a moment at the chief who betrayed no emotion, but the girl to her side all but broke into laughter. She felt rage curse through her blood, but buried it deep. If she lost her cool, then the game was over and she would be the loser… and Astrid Hofferson was not a loser.

"Well?" asked Bertha, now impatient.

"So this is where you were!" said Astrid with a wide smile as she stared at the other girl, "I have been looking all over for you!"

"What?" the smile was gone off the other girl's face.

"I didn't even catch your name," Astrid shook her head still smiling, "you shouldn't be shy about telling others of your gift"

Someday soon, Astrid thought, she was going to give an offering to Freyja for leading her to befriend Hiccup and Fishlegs. Some of their rationalization stuck to her (since she refused to admit she was as rational as them even before she befriended them).

"Camicazi?" asked Bertha, revealing to Astrid her night time, hair chopping assailant's name.

"I…" Camicazi started to protest, but not before Astrid buried her even deeper. By then half of the hall was smirking.

"She didn't tell you Chief Bertha? Camicazi here is a wonderful hair stylist. I never thought I would meet someone with such skill. I just love what you did with my hair" she passed her fingers through short back side of her head. It was indeed a very nice cut, thought most of the Bug Burglars. Surely a mean prank wasn't meant to look like this. This planted a very deep seed of doubt.

"Is this true Camicazi?" asked Bertha turning to look at the girl who not long ago had come bragging about cutting someone short. She had her suspicions when Astrid did not arrive with the other young shield maidens, but moment she had seen Astrid come in she understood perfectly what she meant.

"Of course not!" shouted the girl in indignation, now glaring at Astrid. This was not how her plan was supposed to go!

"Astrid?" asked Bertha with narrowed eyes. She did not like to be made a fool of.

Astrid's smile only got bigger until it reached her eyes as she said with complete confidence, "she is just being shy Chief Bertha. After all, who would think such a little wild thing would have her skill" she looked pointedly at Camicazi's hair, bringing a red tint to the other girl's face. If it was out of embarrassment, Camicazi would never admit it.

"She is lying!" Camicazi bolter upright from her chair and shouted with an accusing finger pointed at Astrid who only allowed a little bit of shock to show in her face.

"No need to be shy Camicazi!" then someone shouted…

"Do my hair next!" then another…

"How girly!" and another laughing, and soon almost the whole hall was calling for the girl.

Camicazi's face turned redder and redder as Astrid continued to smile her way as if she was truly an old friend of hers, then she had enough "Mother!" Camicazi shouted and turned to look at Bertha, who was looking at Astrid in a new light. But Astrid saw none of this. The moment the shout escaped Camicazi's lips, she noticed how much the other girl looked like her.

Mother…


	24. Riddling with a Madman Towards Death

Hiccup watched in amazement as Alvin moved fluently all over the ship managing the sail and the router. He didn't think they would be able to get far with only them managing the ship. He looked back at where he knew Berk was found and sighed; so much for having a peaceful afternoon or going dragon watching. Alvin had him sit in the middle of the ship, far from anything he could use as a weapon. Not that he was stupid to even think about it. Alvin was almost as large as his father and with a blade for his left hand.

"You have been too quiet, any other brat would be bragging on how his father was going to catch up to me" said Alvin once everything seemed steady in the ship. He pulled out a scrap of old paper, "or are you too scared to say anything?"

"Why were you in Grimbeard's coffin?" Hiccup asked looking curiously at the paper Alvin was looking at. He was pretty sure it was the treasure map to Grimbeard's treasure.

"Valhallarama's child indeed," muttered Alvin, though Hiccup wasn't sure if it was envy or hate what he heard in the man's voice, "the Meatheads put me in there"

"Why? I mean, why not just kill you?" asked Hiccup. He knew the Meathheads were not the brightest, but they wouldn't let the chance of a battle escape them.

"Because they thought I was Grimbeard, and thought they would not be able to kill me. So they put me back in the box and casted me out to sea" grumbled Alvin.

He had washed on the Meathheads' island, much like he had in Berk. Once they opened the box, he revealed himself as the living corpse of Grimbeard and offered to take them to his treasure. Many agreed, but the chief of their tribe, Mogadon the Meathead had another idea. He thought at seeing Grimbeard still standing that the treasure was cursed and would keep them from truly dying and reaching Valhalla. As soon as he shared this suspicion with the rest of his tribe, it was an anonymous agreement that he had to be returned to the sea.

The moment he saw Stoick, he knew that same plan wouldn't work again. Not that the man would believe him with someone like Gothi now in his family. The old wench was even more irritating than Valhallarama when it came to ruining his plans.

"Did my father cut your hand?" asked Hiccup who had noticed the animosity between the two grown Vikings.

"Your old man is good, but not that good," said Alvin sitting across from Hiccup, "it was that stupid coffin's fault. Old Grimbeard was more cunning than I thought"

"So it was booby trapped!" Hiccup almost sounded triumphant.

"Yeah, cost me a hand," and the lives of about five men, but who cared about them.

"But what did you do to the body?" asked Hiccup wondering if his ancestor was lying at the bottom of the sea.

"There was no body, just this?" said Alvin passing the map to Hiccup without a worry.

"A treasure map?" asked Hiccup trying to sound ignorant.

"And a few riddles" said Alvin before Hiccup read them. A few minutes passed until Alvin had enough of waiting for him, "well? We don't have all day"

"If I refuse?" Hiccup asked as calmly as he could. They were not difficult at all to solve, but it was the answers that worried him.

"I will kill you," Alvin said lifting his bladed hand.

"Alright," he sighed and read the first two parts again, this time out loud.

_**There is not enough light in the day to find me**_

_**Unless I want to be found**_

_**If you see me**_

_**You can be assured I won't be alone**_

_**But better me than my nighttime pal**_

_**888**_

_**Grounded, blind and deaf**_

_**I live in eternal rage and night**_

_**But I will sniff you out just fine**_

_**I will cut your talons, no need to fight**_

_**Remember I am deaf, so feel free to whine**_

"The first part is speaking of the Changewings, for they can blend into their surroundings and usually hunt in packs. The second part is talking about," he took a deep breath, for Changewings were bad, but the other one was even worse "Skullions… they can't fly, see or hear, but rely on their sense of smell. They have a very long claw which they use to cut the talons of their prey and finish them as slowly and painfully as they can"

"I didn't ask for a lesson dragons, where is the treasure," demanded Alvin.

"There is only one island that holds these two type of dragons; Skull Island" for it was shaped like a skull.

Alvin was speechless for a moment. He had gone over the riddle so many times, he imagined it was a dangerous place, at night specially, but never did he imagine it would that island of all the ones found in the Viking Archipelago. Grimbeard had been a cruel man indeed.

"Then we better get there before night comes," Alvin set the sails and they were off.

888

"Alvin probably already…" said Spitelout as Stoick walked back and forth in worry.

"Don't you dare finish saying that!" shouted Stoick pointing an accusatory finger to his cousin, "or I will throw you overboard to the Sharkworms!"

"Don't pay him any mind; he is just scared of Alvin. Remember all the wet willies, and purple nurples he used to get from him?" Gobber joked trying to lighten the mood, though only a few of the kids dared smile.

Spitelout huffed but said nothing, because he knew Stoick might just lose it and really throw him to the first Sharkworm they spotted. He glanced at his son who was rowing with the other kids who insisted coming in the so call adventure. Actually, most grown Hooligans refused to go because it was Alvin the Treacherous after all. The kids had no idea of who the man was, though it was not a big deal. His son returned his look with a smirk. If Alvin didn't finish the job, his son would be more than happy to do so, granted that Stoick, Gobber, or that stupid Ingerman boy didn't get in the way.

Spitelout was very unpleased that his son popularity had gone down so much since the whole Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus incident. Before, no one doubted his son would become the next chief, but now many families thought otherwise. The Hofferson and Ingerman, two very respectable families, were among those who supported him. There was also Gobber who almost never let Hiccup out of his sight while training which gave Snotlout very few chances. At top of that the boy's mongrel was always alert of them and actually rejoiced when it came to attacking Snotlout.

He was sure, they would be able to end all that in the following days.

"C'mon Sting, can you still scent him?" Stoick leaned on the bow where an old blue Terrible Terror sat sniffing the air. It was actually his wife's dragon. The little thing left sometimes looking for Valhallarama on her own will and returned when tired. Stoick and Hiccup always welcomed her back home. She gave them hope Valhallarama was still out there.

"**Shut up," **the dragon sneered trying to catch the scent of the boy again, but to no luck. She shook her head grimly.

Stoick fell back and sat with a heavy heart. They lost the trace, now all he could hope for was that Hiccup's dragon would find him and protect him, and hopefully Hiccup wouldn't try to fight Alvin on his own. He was as much as a master swordsman as Stoick.

888

A few hours later they ate in silence. Hiccup had his share of awkward meals but this one was the most awkward of all. Alvin kept glancing at him with dark feelings, which made Hiccup doubt he would really let him go at the end of the whole ordeal. The man knew his mother, and seemed to dislike her even more than he disliked his father. He wondered what happened, but didn't dare ask.

"Skinny wimp," mutter Alvin before throwing his leftover over board and going back to manage the ship. He didn't like kids, but especially he didn't like quiet ones. If a child wasn't bragging, cursing, or fighting, he was thinking and a child that thought too much meant trouble.

"**Like everyone doesn't know that," **Hiccup heard a soft growl. Making sure that Alvin had his back turned to him, he went to the side of the boat where he spotted Toothless attached to it, **"got your sword and knife, let's blast his fat ass to Hel"**

"What do you think you are doing!" shouted Alvin, scaring Hiccup before he charged towards the boy, blade raised.

"**Hurry!"** shouted Hiccup before Toothless threw him his sword. Hiccup turned just in time to block the blade from slashing his shoulder.

"Where did you get that!" shouted Alvin before a black blur tackled him.

Toothless dropped the knife he was always carrying, and Hiccup was quick to save it on his boot before hurrying to help Toothless.

"You demon!" shouted Alvin before he punched Toothless, making him reel back in confusion, but not before Toothless left a good scratch on his face.

Hiccup rushed at him ready to strike, but Alvin simply reached out and twisted his arm behind his back with such force that Hiccup felt as if his arm was being pulled out of its socket. His sword was taken from him before he was thrown to the side. Twice in a day, that had to be a new record. He got up again dizzily before he spotted Alvin with his blade raised, ready to strike down the dazed dragon for good.

"If you kill him I won't help you!" shouted Hiccup at top of his lungs, the blade only an inch from Toothless skull.

Alvin was surprised at hearing the boy shout. He was sure he was a wimp, but he saw his determination at protecting his dragon, a mongrel of all things.

"Fine…" if he didn't need the boy, he would have already killed him. He grabbed rope and was fast to tie Toothless down, especially his jaw.

"**I am sorry bud," **Hiccup whispered as he sat not far from him. He still had his knife, but he knew he would have to time their attack better next time.

"If you move even slightly from there I will kill both of you" growled Alvin touching his cheek where Toothless had scratched him. He looked at his hand with his own blood. As soon as this was over he was going to take so much pleasure in killing them.

It was nighttime by the time they reached Skull Island. Hiccup made sure to stay quieter as Alvin cursed their timing. Still, from where Hiccup sat he could see large shapes moving on the beach. His hair stood on end when he realized they were the Skullions. They had their snouts in the air, sniffing for them, but thankfully Skullions could not swim. Instead they growled and roared as they tried to venture into the water towards them, but none got too far before they returned to the beach.

We are so dead, thought Hiccup, as the light of the moon reflected on a long claw. It was as if they were taunting them to come closer, which of course they wouldn't until the following morning. Then, as if out of a nightmare Hiccup could hear their call.

"**Humans" **one said with hunger.

"**I smell humans"**

"**Tender human, old human"**

"**Come humans" **

"**it will only hurt for a moment"**

"**We promise"**

"**Come humans"**

Their raspy and hungry voices made that a sleepless night. Even Alvin was bothered by the large dragons on the beach. Part of him thought they were trying to trick him into lowering his guard. As soon as he was asleep they would board the boat and eat them slowly.

The moment the sun made an appearance the Skullions left the beach. Alvin handed Hiccup a piece of bread before they started moving towards the island.

"Can I feed Toothless?" he couldn't help asking when he saw his dragon trying to not look at his piece of bread.

"We are not wasting the provisions on a dragon," growled Alvin, "a day without eating won't kill him," but I will.

"Let me at least give him some of my bread," Hiccup begged.

"No! Now shut up, were are here" he said before grabbing Hiccup by his collar and throwing him to the beach, before Alvin jumped to join him, "read the next riddle," he said to the boy.

Hiccup read the next riddle in the map.

_**I am precious like a jewel**_

_**But for a very different reason**_

_**I can bring you luck or make you a fool**_

_**It all depends if we are in the hunting season**_

"Well?" Alvin asked.

"A jewel… luck" Hiccup said, as something clawed at his mind, he knew this. Actually, Fishlegs had taught him this… No, Fishglegs' father had told them of this. Mr. Ingerman had sailed near a cliff of this island at one point and seen something, but Hiccup had trouble remembering.

"Hurry boy, we can't stay here long or the Changewings will find us" Alvin looked around for anything that seemed to move.

"That's it!" Hiccup said, "The Changewings' nest"

"What about it?" Alvin asked.

"Changewings' eggs look like Stones of Good Fortune, which some people have been very stupid to take and then end up being hunted by the whole pack of Changewings" Mr. Ingerman had warned them to never make that mistake when near islands with Changewings.

"So the treasure is in their nest?" to Alvin that seemed simple enough if the Changewings were out hunting.

Hiccup looked at the following riddles for a moment and thought; it didn't seem like it, "maybe"

"What do you mean?" Alvin huffed.

"There are still some riddles here" but hopefully it was just Grimbeard messing with their minds from the realm of the dead.

Alvin cursed under his breath before pushing Hiccup to get moving. They had to find some Changewings and follow them to their nest and then wait until they left. He could feel a headache coming.

888

They moved carefully through the waters as Sting the Terrible Terror tried to catch Hiccup's scent again. Stoick refused to return to the island and for once Fishlegs was thankful for Viking stubbornness. After getting up from a barely comfortable night sleep he watched as their dragons dove into the sea to catch themselves some breakfast. In any other occasion he would have not come on such a crazy trip, but Hiccup was his friend and if he could do something to help him he would.

"Miss your little _girl_ friend?" he heard someone ask leaning next to him on the ledge.

"Take that back," growled Fishlegs very unlike him to Heather, "he is the son of your chief, show some respect" and an insult like that could be punished with death, he just had to tell Stoick and…

"Not for long, this Alvin sounds like a bad…" but Fishlegs cut her off.

"Shut up and get away from me," Fishlegs knew who Alvin was, his father was actually smart enough to tell him about the guy before he left. Unlike the rest in their class, he knew they were going against a very dangerous man, "why don't you go suck up to Snotlout? Or something just as disgusting" then he turned and left towards Sting when the little dragon pointed them towards a new direction. As relief washed over Fishlegs, Heather boiled with fury.

"You asked for it," she snapped to glare at Speedifist who lifted his hands in defense, "even Ingerman has a limit to the bullshit he can stand"

"Whatever," she tried to sound like she didn't care as she went to join the others that were with Snotlout. From there she watched as Speedifist talked to Ruffnut, both looking rather serious. From time to time they would stare in their direction. She had a bad feeling about it. Ruffnut and Speedifist did not follow Snotlout as much as them. Heck, even Tuffnut seemed to be following his sister and friend more nowadays. Only she, Dogsbreath, and Wartyhog seemed to really be on Snotlout's side.

"Are you listening?" growled Snotlout on her ear before she nodded and offered him a trusting smile, "good. Now, this is a good chance to get rid of that…"

And what he told them was cruel and savage. She felt sick at her stomach but listened. She didn't admit it to herself, but she was happy when Gobber called them.

"She got his scent! Let's get moving!" shouted Gobber before the teens set the sails, thankfully this morning the wind was in their favor and they had no need to row. But that was the only relief they felt because after a while it was clear where they were going. Skull Island.

**888 Astrid and the Bog Burglars Part 5 888**

Bertha brought the two girls to her home and sat them across from her at the kitchen table. Astrid looked from her to Camicazi with a mix of confusion and hurt, which made Bertha's gut clench. She did what needed to be done, she kept telling herself. Meanwhile, Camicazi only glared at Astrid with mistrust and anger. The two girls had the same bright blue eyes, golden blond hair, pouty lips, and round face, but that was all they had in common. Astrid, under normal circumstances was as cool as a glacier, always in control. Camicazi in the other hand was like an active volcano which you never knew when it was going to explode.

"Does my father know?" finally Astrid was the first to speak.

"He does," said Bertha, "but I made him promise not to tell you"

"Why?" Astrid tried her best not to whine, "If I had known I had a sis…"

"I am not your sister Hooligan!" shouted Camicazi, "and what would you have done? Kill me so you could take my place as heir?"

"No!" shouted Astrid slamming her hands on the table, "I didn't come here with those intentions! I came to meet my family!" and she stared at Bertha with longing.

"Calm down Astrid, you know the deal" Bertha said keeping her cool, but the clenching in her gut only got stronger.

"I know…" she almost whimpered as if in physical pain, "but you could have told me. Maybe then this misunderstanding could have been evaded"

"I knew you would be okay with meeting Camicazi, but Camicazi…" she left it unsaid and allowed Astrid to connect the dots.

Astrid started at the still fuming Camicazi.

"Could we start over?" asked Astrid which took Camicazi by surprise.

"What?" Camicazi asked as Astrid extended her hand to her.

"I know you won't accept me as a sister," Astrid said, sounding almost shy, "but at least let me be your friend"

"No way!" shouted Camicazi slapping her hand away, "you embarrassed me in front of the whole tribe!"

Astrid started to feel her patience start to run out, "and you cut my hair and tried to embarrass me in front of the whole tribe!" She shouted right back.

"Who says it was me?" Camicazi said looking at her smugly.

"Oh please," Astrid rolled her eyes, "you are the worst liar I have ever met!"

"I am not!" shouted an indignant Camicazi.

"You are," Astrid greeted her teeth.

"I am not!"

"You are!"

"Enough you two!" shouted Bertha making both girls jump in their chairs, then she sighed, "Want it or not," she said pointedly at Camicazi, "you two are going to spend more time together," she kept going before neither could interrupt, "Camicazi needs a guard, and you are a very talented shield maiden. It will be purely bodyguard relation, you don't have to gossip to each other, or even like each other"

"But mother, I am more than capable of taking care of myself!" and then she glared at Astrid, "and she is a Hooligan!"

"Not anymore," said Bertha, "she chose us over the Hooligans when she was given the option. At top of that, I won't be able to keep any of our peace treaties if you keep going to the other islands to cause trouble"

"Other islands?" Astrid asked, wondering what the chief was truly enlisting her into.

"Camicazi has the tendency to go to other islands to burgle," Bertha glared at her oldest, "more than often from the chiefs and their families"

Astrid wondered if she had been to Berk as well.

"We are Bog Burglars after all," reason Camicazi which made Bertha again sigh in frustration.

"Your job will be to keep her out of trouble. I understand you had a similar role back in Berk with some of your friends" said Bertha.

"Yeah," she said thinking back. It seemed like such long time ago now.

"Then it's all settled. Starting now, you will guard Camicazi" said Bertha before leaving the room to let the girls talk.

Camicazi opened her mouth to say something foul, but then she caught Astrid's saddened eyes. She swallowed the words before storming out of the kitchen through the back door. It was when the door slammed closed that Astrid realized Camicazi was gone.

"You better start running!" she heard Bertha shout from the adjoin room.

"Dammit!" she bolted outside looking for a clue of where the other girl had gone.


	25. Treasure Hunting and Dragon Watching

NOTE FROM AUTHOR: I just want to thank all of those who are still readying up to this point and I hope to hear of your opinions and ideas in the comments. You will notice they don't go unheard.

888

Grimbeard the Ghastly was indeed once a very mean and dangerous Viking, but over the years he also became very ingenious. He had left a few surprises to those who tried to find his treasure and one that only his rightful heir would be able to overcome. This was also the reason why he had left so many riddles to solve, for what was the point of a strong body without a strong mind.

The surprise he had left for his heir was resting at that time after a good meal.

His meal had been a young Whispering Death that had thought he was strong enough to venture in the tunnels under the island. As it happens usually with the young, the Whispering Death did not listen to his mother and dug deeper than what he had been warned, until he fell on the clutches of this creature who was fast to eat him whole. This might sound like a fast and merciful death, but it wasn't. This creature does not have teeth and always eats everything whole but not without doing something horrible to them and then eating them.

As this dark creature slept, the young Whispering Death screeched for his mother to save him as he was eaten slowly by the stomach acids of the creature that only knew darkness from the moment it hatched.

888

Hiccup was amazed at his own behavior that fine sunny morning. He was perched among the branches with his father and mother's worst enemy watching dragons. He had never had the chance to observe Changewings, for they did not approach his home island often. Alvin had been reasonable enough when Hiccup told him they should cover themselves in mud to mask their scent as dragons' noses were so much more sensitive. Especially if they got caught in the island at night, it would give them a chance to get away from the Skullions. He shivered from where he sat just thinking about it.

"How much more?" Alvin grumbled as the Changewings shared their catch equally among themselves.

Hiccup forgot he was with a madman for a moment, and only wished he had a sketchbook to draw what he was seeing. After the invisible hunt, which had been of the bloodiest he had ever seen, the Changewings had turned visible. It seemed sort of a ritual among themselves… something to show they trusted each other. They resembled Monstrous Nightmares somewhat in size and color, but besides that they were something else.

"Finally," said Alvin grabbing him none too gently and bringing them down. Soon the dragons had taken off back home. Alvin threw him over his shoulder and ran after the flying dragons. Later Hiccup realized that if he hadn't been so amazed he could have taken his sword from Alvin's belt. The large man jumped over boulders and large logs with amazing agility and ran with the speed of a Nadder. His heart rose to his throat every time it seemed they were close to crashing against a tree. He leaped over rivers and deadly drops before they made it to the cliffs where many Changewings' nests sat unguarded close to deadly drops.

So, Hiccup thought, Changewings were confident other dragons would leave their eggs alone. Well, he wasn't surprised. He had noted dragons could fight each other to the death, but when it came to their eggs they never messed with each other. This was something to admire of dragons, he thought, for humans were not always that honorable.

"They will go hunting again before night falls," Alvin said as he set Hiccup down at the edge of the woods from where they could watch the dragons, "then we will make our move"

Hiccup could only nod as he tried to burn everything he had seen to his mind. If he got out of this alive, he wanted to write and draw everything down. There was little to nothing on Changewings on their current Dragon Manual. This could be a great asset to the tribe later on.

"Wake up and read the next riddle boy," Alvin said leaning against a tree.

Hiccup brought out the map and read the next riddle.

**I can break your roof**

**I can break your bones**

**I do not lie, dangerous I am**

**But you don't have to fear me**

**I can also be fun**

**I can help when you get hot headed**

**I die for sometime**

**But you can be sure I will always be back **

"Bet you got no idea on that one" laughed Alvin darkly. That riddle was of the few who had left him sleepless for a few nights trying to decipher it.

"Actually," Hiccup said nervously, hoping to not make the large Viking upset, "the answer is ice"

"What do you mean ice?" it was just absurd. They were Vikings, and were not strangers to ice.

"When snow accumulates on the roof it turns to ice and breaks it. If you get hit with it, it's just as bad as getting hit with a rock. It's fun to skate on ice, and my father uses it whenever he gets a headache after a difficult day" Hiccup explained to the now very upset man.

"Alright, I get it" grumbled Alvin deciding that he would kill the boy as soon as he didn't need him in a very painful way, "so we have to look for ice in the nests"

"Something like that," said Hiccup with a small frown. Dragons and their nests were usually warm, which left very little chance of there being ice. He wondered what Grimbeard had prepared for them.

888

A storm was approaching. Gobber felt it in his bones and was fast to have the teens fold the sails so they wouldn't be lost.

"It's going to take us off course," said Stoick with saddened eyes in the waters. Why did Thor have to do this now that they knew his son was in Skull Island?

"Hiccup is a smart boy and he got his dragon to help him," Gobber told his friend, though he knew there was little chance the dragon and Hiccup would be able to take on Alvin.

Stoick said nothing as the first drops of heavy rain started to fall. He trusted his son to do his best in this situation, but Alvin was something else.

888

No good, no good, Hiccup kept thinking as the mud was washed away from their bodies by the rain. It had only been a few moments ago that the Changewings had left the nests and they had started making their way to the cliff.

"Hurry boy," growled Alvin as Hiccup tried to catch up with him. It had taken longer than they had expected for the dragons to leave and surely they would return soon because of the rain.

They made it to the edge before Hiccup slipped because of the now muddy ground. Alvin caught his arm just in time to pull him back before glaring at the boy.

"Follow me and for Thor's sake, don't slip" said Alvin before he jumped down to the nearest nest.

"Is not like I did it on purpose," Hiccup said under his breath before he too jumped to the nearest nest.

The two of them started checking for ice in the nest but found none. So they jumped down to the next one and did the same. The eggs of the Changewings were indeed beautiful, Hiccup thought as he dared to pick one. He understood why some Vikings would mistake them for Stones of Good Fortune. By the time they reached the fifth nest, they were drenched to the bone.

"You daft child! It can't be ice! There is none here!" shouted Alvin furious.

For a moment he wondered if the boy had lied to him and was looking for the actual answer of the riddle. He wouldn't put it past Stoick's son to give him such a difficult time. Maybe he was just buying time. Alvin knew Stoick was as stubborn as him and had probably gone after them soon after they left. He knew he could always use the boy as a hostage if it came to that, but it would complicate things so much more.

"It's ice!" Hiccup tried to sound sure, because he also doubted the answer. He wrapped his arms around his skinny body to keep himself from shivering. Hiccup tried to think. They were still in summer, which meant ice was for once a little scarce. It had to be someplace where it could be preserved. He looked around before he spotted something farther below. He took a deep breath and started to climb down. The rain pelted his back, making him shiver.

"Trying to escape!" shouted Alvin when he saw Hiccup climb down. He was ready to unsheathe his sword.

"No!" shouted Hiccup, "there is something down here!" and as he said this, the boy disappeared.

Worried and upset, Alvin started to climb down as well before he landed on the place from which the boy disappeared. Before him opened the mouth of a cave; Hiccup stood inside it, his hand touching a frost covered wall. The place where they landed was perfect for a nest, for it was farther down and safe from predators that might dare attack a dragon's nest, but it was empty for the coldness of the cave was not good the dragons' eggs.

Alvin brought out a torch he had brought in case something like this happened and lit it with some flint stones. Soon they were walking inside a deep tunnel covered completely in ice.

888

Toothless was furious, not just because he was tied up and hungry, but also because it was raining. He shifted his head as much as he could and finally saw a solution to his dilemma. Alvin had left an axe leaning against one of the benches of the boat. Now, any other dragon wouldn't think about using human tools for they saw them as signs of weakness. Humans had no claws, or large fangs to attack, instead they resourced to their little toys. However, Toothless knew when to stop his pride and make use of what he had at claw.

With all his strength, he swung his body side to side until he rolled and landed painfully on one of his wings. The discomfort was short lived and he made himself roll again and again until he reached the axe. Here he rubbed the side of his head to cut the ropes tying his mouth shut. It wasn't a perfect plan, for he got a few cuts but nothing a little saliva wouldn't cure. Once his jaw was free, the rest was easy.

He took off to follow the scent Hiccup and Alvin had left, but the rain was erasing it fast. He followed it until he reached a mud bank. The scent was gone.

"**Son of Jormungand!" **he cursed in Dragonese, and had the feeling Hiccup was at fault of this. He was left to trace their steps, which were being erased by the rain.

Still, with the now stinging rain on his back he continued as far as he could. When he was close to reaching the last bits of the trace they had left, he heard dragonesses whisper among the trees.

"**You dare come to our island!" **

"**How dare you!"**

"**Mongrel!" **hissed one after the other.

They were Changewings for he could not see them, but heard them perfectly.

"**I am looking for two humans," **he called out, **"a skinny young one, and a big old one"**

"**There are no humans here!"**

"**You liar!"**

Toothless, with his kin dragon eyes could see the three silhouettes of the dragonesses getting closer to him.

"**I am not lying! They covered their bodies in mud so you can't smell them and…" **then he remembered what Hiccup had said about the Changewings' nest, **"they are after your eggs!"**

If there was something dragons knew well was that no one should mess with their eggs.

"**What!"**

"**Humans at our nest!**

And without further say they turned and started flying back to their nest. Toothless made sure to follow them closely in case they caught his stupid boy and tried to kill him.

What Toothless didn't know was that Hiccup was already in pretty bad situation.

888

"Catch!" shouted Alvin as he threw Hiccup his sword back.

Hiccup caught it just in time to slash a young Skullion across his eyeless face. The beast reared back and roared before launching forwards again, but by then Hiccup had moved to stand with the sneering Alvin.

The creature had charged at them from the darkness in almost impossible silence, knocking Alvin to the side and then concentrating on the piece of meat that smelled younger and tender.

"Stand back!" shouted Alvin as he charged forwards with his a sword on his remaining hand. In a deadly move, which could have ended badly for Alvin had he hesitated just one moment, he pierced the side of the dragon with his bladed hand before using the other to cut the young Skullion's head off. Hiccup covered his face as the blood came spraying out of the Skullion's severed neck, but it wasn't enough to spare him his first blood bath.

"G…great!" Hiccup said looking at himself and trying to not look as shaken as he felt.

Alvin raised an eyebrow at this, for the boy was clearly shaken. Well, he was twelve years old; it was about time he got a little dirty.

"Keep the sword with you, but don't even think about doing something stupid," he said turning his back to Hiccup before picking the torch from where it had fallen.

As they passed the dead body of the Skullion, Hiccup couldn't help noticing some things about the Skullion. It was not black, like he had originally thought Skullions to be, but a very dark shade of purple with a few black scales here and there. They did indeed have a long claw to cut their victim's heels, but curiously enough it was only on one claw. He wondered if this was how they were born, or was something they taught to each other. However, he was reminded of how close he had been to death when he saw the severed head. The place where there should have been eyes was smooth and the nostrils almost overtaking half of its face.

He usually thought dragons as incredible creatures, but this one was just grotesque.

"Stop wasting time and let's go!" shouted Alvin when Hiccup stopped for a moment to try to find if there was anything that might look like an ear on the dragon. It wasn't long before they reached a dead end.

"What is that?" Hiccup asked before Alvin brought the torch closer to the place where the tunnel ended. The end of the ice tunnel was a smooth ice call, and inside said wall there was a piece of metal. It looked rather familiar, thought Hiccup before he brought the map out to check if there was any clue in the riddles, but as soon as he opened the map he realized it was a very poor map.

What they had thought was a map layout of the island was actually a drawing of something Hiccup didn't know just yet what it was. The piece of medal seemed to be a part of it.

"Stand back," said Alvin handing Hiccup the torch. Hiccup felt his stomach clench, wondering if he should tell Alvin about what he had found about the piece of metal, but as soon as the man brought his massive fist against the ice he decided against it. The moment he was no longer useful to Alvin he knew he was as good as dead. If there was something he could do to delay it, he would use that.

Soon Alvin had broken the ice and taken out the piece of metal.

"It isn't even silver," he growled before tossing the metal to Hiccup.

Ahead of them, with the ice wall gone the tunnel continued, but now only made of rock.

"Check the next riddle," Alvin commanded taking the torch from Hiccup and held it over their heads so he could read. As he read the riddle to himself, Hiccup felt his insides clench.

_**888 Astrid and the Bog Burglars Part 6 888**_

In the name of every god, she wondered, how did she end up hiding in the roof of the house belonging to the chief of the Bersekers? At top of that, why was she holding a rope so that Camicazi could lower herself to the living room and steal something belonging to Dagur, the insane son of the chief. Oh yeah, it was all because she had this crazy idea that once she met her mother she would accept her and they would have a wonderful friendship.

Bertha could care less for her, thought Astrid bitterly. All she really cared about was Camicazi. At that moment she was very tempted to release the rope, but she didn't. Not because it was wrong, but because of her pride. She made a decision, and she would stick to it.

"_Father, is there something wrong?" she remembered that evening when she got home and her father was by the fire reading a letter with saddened eyes._

_Only a short time ago, she had gone dragon watching with Hiccup and Fishlegs. She, like most thought that it was lame, but the moment they showed her a nest full of Nadder eggs, she changed her mind completely. It had been so beautiful to watch the mother Nadder take care of them._

"_Astrid, we need to talk" her father had said and she sat close to him, "after the defeat of the Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus I sent Big Boobied Bertha a letter telling her of your bravery. She sent spies to confirm that information, and once she did she sent me this letter"_

"_Wha… what does it say?" she had a rare feeling of dread and excitement._

"_Is an open invitation to join the Bog Burglars," said her father, "it's your decision now"_

At that time, she wished she could have said it was a no brainer. That past month things had changed so much. She was still friends with Ruffnut, but her new friends were also pretty fun in their own geeky way. She spent a long time in silence before that fire. She felt she could really be happy in Berk and grow to be the warrior she always dreamed of, but then she remembered all the tales she had heard of Bertha and she dreamed of being the same way.

Well, this is sort of an adventure, she thought when she felt the double tug on the rope and started to pull Camicazi up.

"_I will go," Astrid had said to her father as she finally stood. The fire had almost died out. Her father only nodded, unable to say anything without breaking into a sob. At that time, and she still regretted this, she wished she would have hugged him but was afraid that if she did, she would change her mind._

"Careful you stupid Hooligan," Camicazi hissed when she almost dropped the large sword she had burgled.

Right, like is my fault you have an obsession with stealing, thought Astrid as she took the sword from Camicazi so she could pull the rest of herself up.

They sneaked to the back of the stables where they had left a dragon they had taken from the Bog Burglars. It was a Nadder named Thorn. Astrid knew they were not allowed to fly on their own just yet, but she had to admit this burgling thing had its perks. She loved the way Thorn broke through the clouds and started to fly them back home. Her new home.

"Not bad for a Hooligan," Camicazi said as she admired the sword she took from Dagur's private collection. It was the biggest and shiniest of all. She had just about one item from each of the chiefs, two or three from some, who lived closer to their island, but there was one she was missing and she had the feeling Astrid would be of help on this.

Astrid said nothing; she refused to be provoked by her sister, as she liked to call her in her mind. They were fraternal twins. She couldn't wait to tell Ruffnut that now she understood her perfectly. Camicazi had been born a few minutes before her and that was the only reason why she was the heir and got live with their mother. Though she felt little to no jealous, as their father was a wonderful kind man (when not in battle), and Bertha was all about appearances.

Astrid concentrated on the long ride they had ahead. She wished, all the while that she had someone to share her thoughts with. The face of a particular boy invaded her thoughts, and was thankful Camicazi could not see her face as she remembered the last time she had seen him.


	26. Riddles, Lies and Everything Falls Apart

Author Note: A thanks to _**ginooki21 **_for poking at my brain and helping me put some of the pieces for Astrid's story together. This chapter will have half Hiccup and half Astrid. Hope you enjoy.

888

Stoick checked every corner of the boat Alvin had taken looking for some sort of clue of where they had gone. Sunset was not far, and he feared his son would be caught in that island at night.

"Stoick look," called Gobber before he pointed to some cut ropes "maybe he tied him up and Hiccup got away"

Stoick shook his head. His son would have waited nearby waiting for them to arrive.

"Toothless was here!" shouted Fishlegs before he brought them one of the dragon's black scales.

Relief and dread washed over Stoick. The dragon was looking after his son the best he could, but it also meant that he had failed to stop Alvin even though he brought his son his weapons. Still, the beast did not give up and had gone after them.

"Sting, follow" he told the Terrible Terror before she took off towards the woods.

The rain had washed away Hiccup's scent, but Toothless' was still there. She stopped on a clearing; the Vikings following her puffing at having to keep at her pace.

"What is it girl?" asked Gobber as the little dragon hissed. They were by no means unprotected. Some of them had brought their dragons. Stoick himself had brought Thornado, so they had nothing to be afraid of, still the little Terror continued to hiss.

"**Changewings," **she hissed again, wishing Hiccup was there to tell them. Sting caught scent of three, all of them females and very vicious.

"Be prepared" called Stoick before they all drew their weapons and continued forwards at a more careful pace, listening for any threat that might be watching them unseen.

Unaware to them, just about every Changewing in the island was panicking over their nests as they tried to trace the scent of humans who had been there not long ago. Because the damn rain, they were unable to follow the scent, but it was in every single one of the nests and this made them very upset. None of the eggs were missing, which was one of the first things they had gone to check, nonetheless they couldn't let this go in case they returned.

So, for the first time in countless years they decided to end their hunt early and guard their nests.

888

**My venom poisons the sea and the sky**

**My father's middle child**

**My skin impassable**

**My length immeasurable**

**My jaws can swallow the world**

**But among my fangs**

**You will sight what you want**

"Don't look so shaken boy; even I could solve that one" Alvin said pushing Hiccup forwards.

"But it's talking about Midgard Serpent" Hiccup protested, "Jormungand"

"So?" asked Alvin not seeing the issue.

"You do know about Ragnarok, right?" he asked incredulously.

"You are still a prisoner, don't forget that" Alvin replied placing the tip of his sword on Hiccup's cheek.

"But…"

"Don't be such a coward" sneered Alvin, "Everyone dies eventually and if it is searching for the greatest treasure at the jaws of the most terrifying creature ever, then I am fine with that"

But I am not! Hiccup wanted to shout. He wanted to at least reach adulthood. He begged at whichever god could help to get him out of this mess.

888

Toothless flew around the nests of the Changewings looking for some clue of where Hiccup could have been taken. Then a scent caught his nose as he flew around the bottom nests. As he followed, he realized it was blood. He flew almost touching the waters below before he spotted the cave covered in ice. Hiccup had been there. His scent was now strong and mixed with that of dragon blood. He released a high growl and allowed himself to be embraced by the darkness of the tunnel. It took him no time to stumble across the body of the dead Skullion. He could smell the man that took Hiccup.

He caught himself being happy that Hiccup was not hurt as far as he could tell. Happy that the stupid boy was okay? He shook his head and growled to himself. He was **not** going soft. He growled at himself again. It was the boy's entire fault, for not letting that man kill the pig faced kid. Had he listened to him, they wouldn't be in this situation. He had well in mind on putting a hole through the kids bed when they were back home and a very big chomp on his leg when he least expected it.

"**Stupid human," **he said as he followed the boy's scent deeper and deeper into the tunnel.

_Try to follow us as discretely as possible and bring my sword along, alright bud?"_

Now that he thought about it, it had been such a stupid plan. He should have stayed out of it. All he had gotten out of this was getting punched in the face by a Viking, getting tied up, and left soaking in the rain. Actually, why didn't he just turn around and left?

"_I am sorry bud,"_

Bud? What right did he think he had to call him bud! They were not friends. They only had an agreement, sort of.

"_**Are you teething? Do you need something? Are you alright bud?"**__ it had been a rainy afternoon and he refused to eat. His gums were killing him._

"_**Leave me alone," **__he growled as he turned his back to the boy. He was in so much pain he didn't realize that first time Hiccup called him bud._

"_**I know what will do the trick!" **__he said cheerfully, which only made Toothless cringe._

_Toothless heard him leave the house and return shortly after with herbs and a wooden mortar and pestle. He listened to the boy crush something in it before a wonderful scent caught his nose. He turned slightly and watched the boy as he turned some dragon nip into a paste before mixing some willow bark and then continued to crush it_

"_**This will make you forget some of the pain" **__Hiccup said with a smile as he concentrated on his task, __**"everything will be fine bud"**_

_But Toothless was too distracted by the scent of Dragon Nip to think of a response._

"_**Open wide, and don't swallow" **__the dragon for once obeyed without a sneering remark. He felt the cool paste being laid across his aching gums. Soon he was in dragon paradise, __**"are you purring?"**_

"_**Don't ruin it," **__grumbled Toothless before he heard Hiccup chuckle. He listened to the boy pick what was left and put on a chair nearby, just in case they needed more at later time._

_Toothless closed his eyes and heard as the boy went through his routine, and eventually fell asleep. When he woke up, the pain had subsided and before him laid a small basket with fish. _

_Meow?_

_He glared at Fiddlesticks, the cat at top of the rafters watching him curiously._

"_**I bet he has never done something like this for you, ha!" **__but the cat paid him no mind and instead started washing himself. Feeling stupid for talking to a cat, Toothless didn't say more and started to eat._

Stupid human, making him think and do stupid things.

888

"Thank Thor!"

The tunnel had opened into a large cavern where a pond sat in the middle, and rising from it was an enormous stalagmite that had grown so large that it almost touched the ceiling. This particular stalagmite had the shape of a large serpent with open jaws.

"It should be at the top" Hiccup said before Alvin threw him over his shoulder and started towards the slippery stone. Hiccup wondered if it was rare that he was getting used to being carried around like a sack of flour. He tried to think of the good side of things, thought they were very few at comparison of the bad. One, it was not really the Midgard Serpent, two, he wasn't getting wet as Alvin carried him through the pond, three, he might actually get to see the treasure his ancestor gathered even if was the last thing he would probably see.

Then there were the bad sides. He would die very young. He would not see his friends ever again. He remembered Astrid had yet to explain what happened for her to leave. Snotlout would become the next heir. Fishlegs would probably banish himself when that happened. His father would be left all alone. He would never really know what happened with his mother.

"Climb up," Alvin said before Hiccup climbed the remaining of the way to the mouth of the stone serpent. It was not big enough for Alvin, so it was up to him to find where they should go next. He stared in the same direction the mouth was pointing and soon found among the shadows of the cavern another tunnel. As he was turning to go back down, in the back of the stone jaws he saw something shine. As silently as he could he pulled a piece of metal out. It was very similar to the one they had found in the ice. Discreetly he tucked it away with the other piece before going down and leading Alvin forwards.

As they entered the new tunnel, he recalled the last riddle in the so called map.

**Are you ready to face your fears?**

**Break me at your own risk**

**Loki will haunt you for seven years**

**You will repent if you are brisk**

The weight of the two pieces of metal was heavy on his side. His sword seemed very small and Alvin taller than any man he had ever met. He knew the end was coming close, and yet didn't know how to get out of this mess.

_**888 Astrid and the Bog Burglars Part 7 888**_

Astrid was beginning to lose her patience as she listened to another of Camicazi's crazy ideas. For the past two weeks she had been able to keep Camicazi from being captured at least seven times. She found soon after taking the position that Bertha really didn't care about Camicazi stealing things. What worried her was that Camicazi would get capture and then Bertha would have to bargain for her freedom. It had already happened a few times.

"You are insane" Astrid said twirling her axe before cutting a log in mid air. She was once again helping with the kitchen's fire wood behind the kitchen garden.

"C'mon! It will be fun!" Camicazi said with a big mocking smile, "I bet you are dying to see your old tribe"

Astrid missed the next lug and cursed under her breath. She missed no one. Well, maybe she missed her father and friends but that was beside the point. She had no desire whatsoever to go to Berk. She was now a Bog Burglar, nothing else.

"Well?" Camicazi felt her smile widen when she saw how Astrid reacted.

"No," said Astrid with decision.

"You know you don't really have a saying on this, right?" Camicazi said crossing her arms, "after all, you wouldn't want me intruding into the wrong house and upsetting the wrong people, right?"

Astrid dropped her axe on the grass and turned swiftly to face her sister. Of all the devious things she could say, she had to point out Astrid's disgraceful reality. She had no say whatsoever. Quitting was not an option for her. Doing so would be like saying she couldn't keep up with Camicazi.

Camicazi did her best not to cringe when Astrid's glaring eyes landed on her. She hated that Astrid was slightly taller than her as she got closer to her and stopped only a step away. From her charged breathing, she could tell Astrid was very upset. Maybe she had gone too far this time. She clenched her teeth in case it came to the worse.

"Fine," she sighed after a moment before turning to pick her axe again and continuing with the wood.

"You are not just saying that, are you?" Camicazi asked suspiciously.

"No," she said without turning to face her as she cut another log, "we will leave at sunset, so we can be back by dawn and not rouse suspicions"

"I can't wait!" cheered Camicazi, "I heard Stoick the Vast has an incredible collection of weapons!"

"He does," confirmed Astrid looking for something else to cut. She was done with the wood.

"You have been inside his home?" Camicazi looked at her surprised.

Astrid knew the things other tribes said of Chief Stoick. They talked about his massiveness, strength and bravery with reverence. Much the same Shield Maidens talked about Chief Bertha and how every Shield maiden should stride to be like her. She had been a fool for believing all those tales. She knew Stoick was indeed all those things, but he was also short tempered, obstinate, and even pompous at times. She had learned Chief Bertha was not just brave, smart and strong but she was also moody, deceitful, and superficial.

"Yeah," she said dropping to the grass and started to sharpen her axe.

"C'mon, don't just sit there. Tell me about the inside, what is the best thing I can take?"

"I said I would go with you, but don't think for a moment I want to" she said as she continued to sharpen her axe.

"I knew it, once a Hooligan…"

"Yeah, I have heard you before"

"Where are you going?" she asked when Astrid stood up and started to walk away.

"To sleep, we have a long night ahead of us"

She felt weird walking towards the home of the chief though since she started as Camicazi's guard, she was there more than a few times in a day. She didn't bother to knock. Bertha looked up from her comfortable chair and placed her tea down.

"What is did she do this time?" she asked.

"She plans on stealing from Stoick the Vast" she realized she was falling into a routing. Every time Camicazi planned something that she couldn't stop she would inform the chief just in case the two of them got captured.

"Did you try to talk her out of it?" Bertha asked as usual.

"Of course, Chief Bertha" Astrid responded trying to not roll her eyes.

"Then you know what to do," Bertha said picking her cup again.

"Of course Chief Bertha," said Astrid bowing slightly, "we will leave at sunset, so you can expect us back by dawn"

"Astrid, is there something in your mind?" the girl seemed more rigid than usual.

"Yes," she said as she started towards the door, "but it's nothing you should concern yourself with Chief Bertha"

"I will be the judge of that," she slammed her cup down, almost breaking it, "does this trip to Berk bother you? Because if that's the case I can find someone else to guard the heir of our tribe"

"It doesn't bother me at all," she said trying to keep calm.

"What is it then? I can't have you distracted and getting caught. You know I won't be able to work a deal with Stoick the Vast"

"Did you ever think of me?" she asked with a firm voice.

Of course, Bertha wanted to say, Asmund would write of her so many times, praising her strength and beauty. Most of the time she thought he was exaggerating and that Astrid was an ordinary girl.

"Astrid, you know the deal" she reminded her.

"It was simply luck, wasn't it?" she asked keeping her cool, but she could feel her barriers breaking.

"Or destiny," Bertha added.

"It had nothing to do with me," it was as if a weight was taken off her shoulder.

"Not at all" Bertha confirmed.

Astrid started to laugh.

"Have you gone mad?" she stared at the girl slightly worried.

"No, no" she repeated trying to get under control, "Chief Bertha, I am just very happy"

"Explain yourself,"

"I thought there was something wrong for me to be a girl and not be allowed to stay with the tribe. Now I understand that my staying would have caused a rift in the loyalty to the rightful heir of the tribe"

"You are a smart child,"

My father taught me well, she wanted to say.

"Thank you Chief Bertha and you can be sure that I am not only strong but also loyal to you and the rightful heir. There shall be no rift in our tribe because of me"

"I am glad to hear that Astrid, now you may go"

"Thank you Chief Bertha"

And she left. As soon as she made it outside she ran as fast as her legs could carry her into the woods. As soon as she was sure she was deep enough she let out a scream of fury and swung her axe with all her strength.

AAAAAARRRRGGGHHHH!

She swung it around cutting bushes and branches as she screamed her heart out. It was just bad luck. Stupid Loki granted luck!

AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!

"_I heard she could make any man cry by just glaring at them,"_

"_Well, I heard she took a whole army of Romans all on her own"_

"_Ha! That's nothing! I heard she stole the whole feast of Norbert the Nutjob's birthday"_

"_No way!"Astrid cried out. She had only been five years old at the time._

"_Yes way! She also went to Lava Lout Island for vacation and made the Lava Louts serve her cool drinks"_

How could she have been so stupid to believe all that shit! All of those days she spent only training instead of having fun with her friends. All those days she practiced what she would say to her when she met her when one of the first things she tells her is that she can't declare herself her daughter. All the tears she shed because she thought she was unwanted.

Ahhhhhhhhhh!

Then she collapsed in the woods panting, her hand still holding her axe tightly. She had been so stupid. Tears ran down the sides of her face. Eventually she got up again, her whole body ached. So much for resting before they left, she sighed. She took her time walking back to the village. How she wished again to have someone to talk to… She stopped, her eyes not really looking at anything as she thought. Her heart started to race again, but this time for a very different reason. A shaky smile came to her face before she hurried back to the village.

888

_**PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW OR COMMENT. It will be greatly appreciated.**_


	27. Hiccup Takes a Good Look at his Fears

Author's note: A very big thanks to _**DiamondBreak **_for review every chapter in one day! I am not big on the whole note thing, but do thank everyone that has done the same as well all the Guest Reviews. I know you got a lot of questions, but I don't think it would be fair if I answered all of them. Many of them are spoilers and it would ruin the story for you. I will answer the following

**Are Astrid and Hiccup gonna meet soon? **Sort of, in the next Arc

**Is this like the book or the show? **It's a mix Para Normiux (and please stop using my name in your reviews *embarrassed*)

I hope you enjoy the following chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.

This chapter was written while listening to 'Peaches - Turn It On (Franz Ferdinand Cover)' can be found in YouTube.

888

"I say we go back to the ship and continue tomorrow when the sun is out" Spitelout said as the sun started to set. They had finally made it near the Changewings nest.

"No, we are close" Stoick persisted. He knew they had to go down, but how?

"But Stoick, the Skullions will be out and about any moment now!" cringed Spitelout.

"We are not leaving, and that's my last word on it" he said glaring at his cousin.

"How do you suppose we are going to get past the Changewings?" Gobber hated siding with Spitelout, but he also saw the point he was making.

"I… I kind of have an idea" the three men turned to watch the shuffling Fishlegs.

"What is it boy?" Stoick was so desperate; he was willing to listen to a child.

Fishlegs sighed before he told them. He wondered if having ideas like this meant that he was becoming a true Viking. The idea scared him because if that was the case he believed he wouldn't live for much longer.

"That's suicidal!" Spitelout said with a little bit of respect (because it was so crazy) and a lot of coldness to the kid. It might just work and they might just make it to Hiccup in time.

"I know! But Hiccup is somewhere down there and we are running out of time"

"I am not doing it" Snotlout said when he had the chance. He was Viking crazy, but that was just plain crazy.

"No one is making you Snotlout," Stoick looked around the teens, wishing Astrid was there. He knew she would have been able to do this without flinching.

"I will do it," said Ruffnut stepping forwards.

"Me too," said Tuffnut, "it sounds fun"

"Its madness!" Snotlout was upset the twins were willing to risks their lives for Hiccup of all people.

"We already taunted a Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus. It would be sad if that was the last crazy thing we ever did" Ruffnut said with a teasing smile.

"Thank you," Fishlegs felt a weight off his shoulders. He was too big and slow for the plan, but the twins were just perfect.

"Thornado will look after you," said Stoick before said dragon joined the volunteers, "you will fly straight back to the ship and wait there for us"

"Yes sir!" they said in unison.

"Sting, you know what to do" Stoick said to the helpful Terrible Terror.

The small dragon chuckled before she flew close to the Changewings nest. Once there, as they did not suspect her because she was just another dragon, she went behind one of the nest and took one of the eggs out before flying back to the Vikings.

"**You are all crazy," **she said as she placed the egg on Ruffnut's hands, **"goodluck"**

888

"This was a bad idea!" Tuffnut said as they ran as fast as they could. Behind them they could hear, but no see the Changewings chasing after them, "your turn!" he said before throwing the egg back to his sister.

"It's too late Tuff, run!" she called swearing she could feel the acidic spit of the Changewings close to her skin, "your turn!" she threw egg back to Tuffnut as one of them got too close to her, or so she thought.

"We are going to die!" he said when the end of their path finally came in sight.

"**Now!" **they heard a roar belonging to Thornado.

The twins jumped off a cliff.

"I regret nothing! Again!" shouted Tuffnut.

"Shut up idiot!" Ruff said, though she was smiling. They landed on Thornado's wide back before he flew around the island.

"**Follow the dragon traitor!" **the Changewings were following close behind.

888

It took no time for the rest of the Hooligans to find the cave as Sting followed the scent of Hiccup, Toothless and dragon's blood. They passed the dead body of the young Skullion.

"Alvin's work" Gobber said as they passed it, "still looks fresh, they should be nearby"

"I want you young to stay out of Alvin's path. He is too dangerous for you to try to take on" Stoick told them as they walked forwards, "concentrate on getting Hiccup out as fast as you can"

The teens nodded, also resenting that they would not get to fight this man. Snotlout was the only one pleased with the plan. If they were able to isolate Hiccup from the adults, then he would have no problems with his plan. Said plan only involved him stabbing Hiccup in the back and then blaming it on a wild dragon, but it was still a plan.

"I think Snotlout is up to something," Speedifist said as he walked next to Fishlegs in the back. He had sensed it since they were on the boat. He had only talked to Ruffnut about it and she had agreed with him. Now that she was out there playing Changewing bait, the only one he could rely this information was Fishlegs.

"I know," Fishlegs said keeping his eyes on Snotlout and then his followers. Had the twins been there, they would have a greater chance to defend Hiccup. It was them two against Snotlout, Dogsbreath, Wartihog and Heather. Most of them had brought their dragons and actually because of that he and Speedifist were at some advantage. Snotlout was not allowed to bring his Monstrous Nightmare and Wartihog his Gronkle because they were very large and brought too much attention to themselves.

Then the lights went out and they were plunged into darkness. They were all silent before they heard a growl and one of the adult being hit by something.

"Get the torch!" Stoick shouted but before Gobber could lit the torch they heard a familiar screech and then the tunnel was covered by purple light coming from a familiar black dragon, "it's me!"Shouted Stoick under the dragon before said dragon stopped and got off the Viking. Soon after Gobber lit the torch again, "did you find him?" asked Stoick before Toothless turned and started running. They followed close behind.

Fishlegs felt relief at seeing Toothless. Their odds were growing.

888

Hiccup felt his heart stop when they entered a small chamber. It was a magnificent chamber with seven mirrors; one in each of its walls at least ten feet tall, and framed in gold. In the center of the chamber there was a large chest.

"Finally!" Alvin said ready to open the chest.

"Don't!" shouted Hiccup, "there is one more riddle and I think its related to the chest" not really, but he had to buy himself time, "remember what happened with the coffin?"

Alvin flexed the fingers of his remaining hand in thought.

"We should spend the night here, and tomorrow morning we take it out. If I get the necessary tools I should be able to open it without trouble" Hiccup said adding to Alvin's need of him.

"Fine" grumbled the large Viking before he set the torch on a holder by the door.

Hiccup gasped as the light of the torch reflected on every single one of the mirrors illuminating it gracefully. Alvin didn't care to take notice and went to lean against the chest before he took out a piece of dry meat and started to chew on it. He didn't bother to offer any to Hiccup and the boy didn't bother to ask. He wasn't hungry at all. He knew the true answer to the riddle was found in the seven mirrors.

**Are you ready to face your fears?**

**Break me at your own risk**

**Loki will haunt you for seven years**

**You will repent if you are brisk**

Face your fears… He swallowed the knot in his throat before walking towards the first mirror. When he saw his reflection he saw it was no ordinary mirror. He stared at himself but just a lot smaller and skinnier. He hated it at once because that was how others made him feel, small. Without thinking, his hand went for one of the pieces of metal they had found and was ready to use to smash the glass. Break me at your own risk… then he recalled that it was the worst thing he could do. He stared deeper into the mirror, bypassing his own depressing appearance and the mirror was partially translucent. Behind the mirror was a nest of Venemous Vorpents. Had he broken it and awaken them they would both be very dead. There was no know antidote for Vorpent venom and it was said to be an extremely painful way to die.

He walked towards the next mirror.

"What are you doing boy?" Alvin said who was starting to get sleepy. He hadn't slept at all the previous night and the day was starting to wear him out.

"Just looking," Hiccup said, "they are nice mirrors"

"Indeed," Alvin said before closing his eyes. They were nice mirrors. Hadn't his face been ruined after so many battles, he thought, he would have taken one with him.

Hiccup started at the next mirror and flinched. Before him laid a reflection of himself all beaten up and with Snotlout with a foot on his head pushing his face into the mud. Just like with the previous mirror, he looked farter in and inside saw a group of sleeping Vampire Dragons. One alone wasn't a threat but in group they were deadly. They could leave a grown Viking man as dry as a raisin.

He moved to the next mirror.

He saw him unable to defend his friend Fishlegs from being killed. He wanted to stop right and then and turn around. He could hear Alvin's soft snores. If he was to sneak out then, it wouldn't be a problem at all. But his feet wouldn't move towards the exit. Instead he started at this mirror until he saw what was behind it. He saw Squealers for the hundreds. Just like the Vampire Dragons, they were not real threat unless they were in groups. If he was to break this nightmarishly mirror, the Squealers would get out and devour them in mere seconds until only bones were left.

He moved to the next mirror

He saw his father's scowling and disappointed face stare directly at him. The young twelve year old boy felt as if someone had gripped his heart and was squishing it. He forced himself to try to look deeper into the mirror but his eyes kept going back to his father's eyes. _You are not a Viking, _he could hear his father's voice in his mind, _you will never be a proper Viking, and you are a disappointment_. Hiccup closed his eyes, unable to stare any longer and moved to the next mirror only to find the same reflection as the previous one.

He cursed under his breath and went back to the previous mirror. He had to look deeper into it even if he didn't want to.

_Snotlout would make a better heir than you._

"He wouldn't" Hiccup whispered to himself so Alvin wouldn't wake up.

_He is stronger and braver than you._

"He is an idiot and would get everyone killed before a year's time"

_He is a proper Viking._

"So what?" Hiccup replied through clenched teeth, "he is still a first rate asshole" he took a deep breath and stared directly at his father's eyes in the mirror.

_YOU ARE A DISSAPOINTMENT!_

I am not. He wanted to say but stopped himself when he was able to look through the mirror. On the other side was a large sleeping Skullion. At least he thought it was sleeping by the slow rise and fall of its chest. It was hard to tell with the whole 'no-eyes' situation.

Finally he was able to move to the fifth mirror.

He saw in a far unknown land the drying bones of his mother. He knew it was her because he recognized her magnificent armor and sword. Tears spilled from his eyes as he tried to remind himself that it was all a trick from the mirror. His mother might still be alive, he told himself as he stared deeper into the mirror. Inside he saw a couple of Sharkworms. Like the name implies, it resembles a hammer head shark greatly, plus it had thick alligator like legs which meant that even if you swam to the shore, the Sharkworm could still follow and devour you.

He moved to the sixth mirror and saw Astrid. She looked as beautiful as the last time he saw her and felt himself reach for the mirror but stopped when he saw her expression. She was looking directly at him with a scowl.

_Ready to die Hooligan?_

He heard her in his mind. He tried to shake his head to chase the voice away.

_Are you a coward Hooligan?_

I am not, he said to himself. I am here, am I not?

_Are you weak?_

I will grow; he said to himself more than her, I will be strong enough someday to protect those I care about. Including you from whatever mess you are in.

And without further ado he stared deeper into the mirror. Inside was a next of Electricsquirms. It was said one touched you it would be same as feeling the thunder of Thor strike you.

He moved to the last mirror waiting for the worst, but what he saw was his plain reflection. Yes, he was smaller than the others in his class, but he was also younger at least one year. Yes, he wasn't strong but he was sure he would grow and though he wouldn't be as strong as his father, he would not be weak. At top of that he was smart and that could be more useful than muscles in some situations.

Eventually a smile grew on his face. All those things he saw before were not him. This was him; wild red hair, green eyes, countless freckles, small now (who knows later), and very smart. He started deeper into this mirror and only saw a stone wall. Encrusted in said wall was the last piece of the puzzle.

He looked back at the sleeping Vikings and then to the mirror. He placed a tentative hand on the glass and watched with wide eyes as his hand went through it until he touched the stone wall behind it. It was both fascinating and terrifying. Hooligans were not big fans of sorcery, nonetheless Hiccup felt all of his senses awaken like never before at the same time he got Goosebumps and every hair in his body stood on end.

He pulled the last piece of metal out and watched as his reflection shivered like water. But now, he was not looking at himself. There was a young man who looked a lot like him for exception of his eyes, for they were blue like the sea. The young man in the mirror pointed at himself and then at Hiccup. He tried to say something but the sound was muted. Hiccup did not understand, so he shook his head. The young man seemed impatient and then without warning he reached through the mirror and took hold of Hiccup's free hand.

Hiccup gasped in horror wondering if he would be pulled into the mirror before the young man only pulled his hand back into the place where Hiccup had taken the last piece of metal out and felt a piece of paper. He pulled it out, and noticed then that his reflection was back.

"What do you think you are doing!" Alvin shouted who had seen just about everything.

"Nothing you have to worry about!" Stoick the Vast shouted as he and the older Viking charged into the room and started to fight.

888

Camicazi felt something prickling in the back of her mind as she readied her burgling equipment. She turned to watch as Astrid prepared the burgling rope in utter silence, making sure it was secure. Her mind seemed to be lost somewhere. She wondered if she would stay in Berk. It would be for the best if she did, thought Camicazi. Astrid didn't really seem that happy with the Bog Burglars. She was very lonely. None of the other girls paid her much mind as she was so quiet. Young Bog Burglars had a tendency for gossip, chattering, and bragging. If you didn't join in it usually meant you were not social. She wondered if Astrid had been the same way back in Berk. She could actually believe it with her being so dedicated to her training.

"Do you know how our parents met?" Astrid asked her out of nowhere.

"Nope, and I don't really care" Camicazi had little to no interest on knowing who had fathered her. She was a Bog Burglar, and as such she knew that one day she would have to go out and search for a man she thought worthy of fathering a child for her. That child, if a girl, would become the next chief of the Bog Burglars.

"He told me," Astrid said with a smile, "I bet Chief Bertha never told you"

Camicazi stared at her surprised. Astrid was actually teasing her. Was this her way of saying sorry before she left them for good? Trying to make a stupid bond before they became enemies? She hadn't seen her as anything else but an enemy, but still she decided to bite.

"She didn't," not that she thought there was anything special about it; probably got him drunk in a pub before she had her way with him.

"You know about Grimbeard's shield, right?" Astrid asked.

"What about it?" Camicazi couldn't help snapping at her, but Astrid didn't even flinch. The shield of Grimbeard was a shield they had stolen from the Hooligans a long time ago and the reason why they were not in friendly terms.

"Father tried to steal it back," Astrid said proudly.

"Nha, you are lying" no Hooligan would be that brave or stupid to try to steal something from the Bog Burglars, especially something as precious as Grimbeard's shield.

"I am not!" Astrid said trying to not lose her patience.

"Alright, what happened then?" this had to be good.

"Chief Bertha caught him," Astrid said.

"But of course!" laughed Camicazi. Her mother would never allow anyone to burgle from them.

"She locked him up, and the following morning he had already escaped"

Good escape skills, Camicazi thought, for it was very difficult to escape a Bog Burglar prison. They were master of escape, which meant their prisons were fool proof.

"He tried to steal the shield again, and she caught him again," Astrid said, and Camicazi noticed she had never seen her so relaxed before.

"And let me guess, he escaped again"

"Yes, but this time he went to Chief Bertha"

"He tried to kill her?" she tried to sound more outraged than curious, but failed miserably.

"No," a silly smile appeared on her face, "he knew it would be impossible"

"Then?"

"He went to court her" the silly smile got wider.

"You Hooligans are crazy" Camicazi shook her head in misbelieve.

"Is it crazy to fall for the most respected Shield Maiden of the whole Viking Archipelago?"

"Alright, maybe not" Camicazi admitted.

"Of course Chief Bertha refuted him and so father begged her for a chance to prove himself worthy of being in her company even if it was for a short time"

Camicazi was actually curious. This was not the usual way they chose the men.

"She gave him three tasks. First one was to steal something from his own tribe"

"What did he steal?"

"Gobber the Belch's peg leg in the middle of the night"

It was sort of an act of treason, but her father told her that once he explained everything to Stoick the man was actually sympathetic. Gobber in the other hand made him help at the smithy for quite some time as repayment.

"I have heard of that man, not as great as our own warriors, but he was a great warrior"

"And he still is" she tried to not sound too proud, but she was "Chief Bertha was pleased with this so she gave him the second task"

"Which was?"

"It was a race from here to Lava Lout Island and back; father on Tempest, his Nadder and Chief Bertha on her Monstrous Nightmare. Which actually ended in a tie; I was surprised for father raises the best Nadders in all of Berk"

"And mother the best with Monstrous Nightmares. What was the third task?"

"The third task was a battle. The first to shed the other's blood lost"

"Mother couldn't have lost!" this time she was truly outraged. Her mother was a master swords-woman.

"She didn't," Astrid said with a smile, "she had another warrior fight father. Father thinks she did this on purpose for even he knew he was no match for her"

"Like I would believe something like that" Camicazi rolled her eyes at her.

Astrid just shrugged, "that's what he thinks, who knows? He won and you can imagine what happened after"

"I would prefer not to" Camicazi knew her face was turning red.

"Did you know they still write to each other?" Astrid said sounding younger than Camicazi had ever heard her. She looked dreamily at the sunset.

"I have," Camicazi said not too happy. They weren't supposed to have any attachment to men, but it was often spoken of how his mother had fallen for a Hooligan of all men out there. When Bertha caught to such gossip she was fast to silence it through punishment.

"I think he still loves her," Astrid said still looking at the sunset.

"Love? What are you talking about?" only children believed in something like love. Love to them it meant being tied down, having their swords and shields taken from them, and turned into child bearing beasts and maids to a single man.

"Whenever he received a letter from Chief Bertha, he would be very cheerful for a few days"

Camicazi didn't want to admit to herself that she had seen her mother act very much the same way.

"At top of that, he never married," Astrid sighed before giving Camicazi the more serious look she was used to seeing on her "I am worried about him"

"Is this why you insisted on telling me all of this?" ha! She knew she was after something.

"Kind of," Astrid nodded "I just want to check that he is doing okay. My aunt, his sister, said she would look after him. But if I know father, and I know him well, he will refuse any offer of help in the household that she offers him"

Sounds like someone I know, thought Camicazi, "fine, but burgling first" and hopefully once Astrid met with her father she would decide to stay on Berk.

Camicazi relaxed further into the grass where she sat. The first part of her plan was completed.


	28. From Deadly to a Catastrophic Situation

Author's Note: This is the last chapter before I go back to work. I will be back next Tuesday, April the 1st with an update. _**THIS IS AN ALL HICCUP CHAPTER**_. I hope you enjoy it. ALSO thanks everyone for their reviews. (Some grammatical errors might appear as I don't have time to double check it, will be corrected when I am off work next week).

888

He was disoriented for a moment but as soon as he saw Toothless and Fishlegs at the entrance calling for him he knew he had been saved.

"**What are you waiting for?! An Invitation?!" **Toothless called before Hiccup dodged the now fighting Vikings and ran to them. As soon as they could they left running back through where they came from. They ran for what felt an eternity until they saw the entrance through the cliff.

"Wait! What about the Changewings?" Hiccup made them stop and they listened for any sound of the dragons.

"**The crazy twins are still distracting them"** for the first time he noticed Sting was with them.

They climbed as fast as they could over the cliff. As they made it to the top, they noticed the moon was out and well above them.

"We must hide until dawn" Hiccup told them.

"Back to being a coward, I see" Snotlout jeered.

"The Skullions know where our boats are and will wait for us in the coast" Hiccup said trying to keep calm.

"Let them come, I will kill them all" said Wartihog

"Yeah, me too" echoed Dogsbreath

"Me… me too" Heather said not so sure.

"You can all go if your want," Speedifist said with alert eyes and ears, listening for any strange sound.

"No, we all must stay together," Hiccup said before a cold wind shook their young bodies, "if we want a chance to survive against the Skullion we must stay all together"

The smaller of them walked towards the woods and it was then under the moon of the light the rest of the teens finally noticed Hiccup's blood covered body. Speedifist, Fishlegs, Sting and Toothless followed him short after, then the rest. Sting took them to a cave she had spotted earlier that day.

"No fire, the smoke will attract them" Hiccup said when he spotted some of them starting to gather dry wood.

"You don't give the orders around here" sneered Snotlout hating how close Toothless was to Hiccup, "you are the one that was stupid enough to get caught by him"

Hiccup raised an eyebrow at him, which didn't go unnoticed by the rest. They all remembered it quite differently.

"Then go right ahead, won't you?" Fishlegs said sitting on the most comfortable place he could find, "when the Skullions get here, make sure to greet them with a cup of tea"

"Shut up fish face" Snotlout sneered, but he too sat down and the rest followed.

They sat in the darkness and took turns to sleep. Fishlegs, Speedifist, or Toothless always remained awake while Hiccup slept. Morning didn't take too long arrive and soon they were all walking back to the beach.

"**Any sign of the Changewings?" **Hiccup asked the dragons.

"**None," **Sting replied.

"**They are all probably panicking over their nests" **Toothless chuckled.

"**I hope father and the rest made it out alright" **Hiccup said wondering if they should go back.

"**They are grown Vikings, they can take care of themselves" **Toothless said carelessly.

And thought Hiccup knew this was true, he couldn't help worrying.

When they made it to the beach Hiccup felt relief wash over him, for his father, Gobber, and his uncle Spitelout were all waiting for them along with a tied up Alvin and the chest of treasure.

Hiccup saw his father's smiling face, his true face unlike that one of the mirror. His father greeted him with a path on the back before leading them to the ships. Gobber told the boys how they had fought the Changewings as they dragged the captured Alvin. All of the carried cuts and hits they received during the fight. The fight lasted most of the night, and once over dawn was creeping in. They had carried the chest and dragged Alvin along until they reached beach at break of dawn. Thankfully only one slow Skullion remained and Stoick along with Thornado was fast to kill it.

Thornado, sadly to say was injured in the whole matter and now rested in the boat Alvin had taken from them. Gobber took charge of the one Alvin had taken from them with the teens. Stoick and Spitelout the other with their sons, Fishlegs and their tied up enemy took the other.

"So, are we like gonna get portion of the treasure? We got chased after Changewings all night" Tuffnut said before Gobber started shouting orders at them.

In no time they were off and away from Skull Island.

"Wash son or your clothes will be ruined" after a while Stoick brought his son a pale of sea water. What really bothered him was to see his small son covered in the now dry blood.

Hiccup was more than happy to comply. He took off his clothing until he was down to his skivvies and washed his tainted skin. He heard Snotlout chuckled at his light body, but Hiccup paid him no mind. His scrubbed at his skin until every spot of dragon blood was washed off. He took a lot of care when he washed his reddish hair. After that day, he could have sworn that his hair became redder. When done with his body he proceeded to do the same with his clothing. His clothes were already ruined, forever a red. He let them dry in the sun as he finally had a decent meal. Toothless joined him with his own catch from the sea.

"**That one was even too close for you" **Toothless said before giving a large yawn.

"**It was," **Hiccup said as he checked his now dry clothes. He started to dress.

"**You owe me big for this one" **Toothless gave him a playful smile.

"**What do you want bud?" **Hiccup asked him wondering what outrageousness he would ask for this time.

"**Part of the treasure," **Toothless didn't bother to complain about being called bud.

"**I never understood that, why do dragons like treasure so much? You can't spend it, just hoard it"**

"**It would be my treasure; it's up to me to decide what to do with it, is it not?"**

"**Alright," **Hiccup agreed.

"What are you two chattering about?" Stoick asked when he noted his son smiling as he talked to his dragon.

"Toothless wants into the treasure," and before his father could get upset, he added, "I told him that I didn't see the point on a dragon having treasure, but he tells me he will do what he wants with it for it would be his"

"That dragon of yours," and Hiccup and Toothless were both surprised when they heard him laugh "he earned it. Let's open that chest already! My son's treasure!"

"Wait Father," Hiccup said, "Alvin said the coffin was booby trapped. The chest could be too"

Snotlout and Spitelout didn't look happy at all to hear this proclamation, but still followed as Stoick went to the chest.

"Is that true?" Stoick turned to the fuming Alvin.

"The boy is mad, I just saw him talking to his dragon" Alvin said.

"I will take that as a yes," Stoick said.

"We should wait until reaching the village. Gobber and I can use the tools from the smithy to take care of it" Hiccup said passing a hand over the chest. Under the sun, he was finally able to see that the chest was covered with carvings of what seemed to be the Dragon Rebellion.

As they finally came close to Berk and the sun started to set Hiccup sat at the end of the boat and took out the three pieces of metal he had found. Using the map as a guide, it took him no time to put them in the correct order. Something clicked on them and they became one. He wondered if this was clue into opening the chest. It would be great if it was.

Just as he was about to take the note he had found he felt a shiver through his back. He put the piece of metal away and turned around to find Snotlout behind him, his sword at hand. He saw his father had his back to them as he talked to Spitelout, Fishlegs was seasick and was heaving on the side of the boat and Toothless had gone off to fish for his dinner.

"I haven't forgotten what you said" he sneered.

"You do know my father will kill you as soon as he sees you next to my body, right?"

"He will be dead and your stupid frined too" Snotlout sneered, "my father and I will kill them and then we will kill Alvin and blame it on him"

"I am surprised; did you think that all on your own?"

"Shut your mouth" Snotlout growled.

"I think not," then the two boys turned and watched Alvin stand up, his ropes fell to the floor.

"Hiccup!"

"Snotlout!"

The two boys were in a headlock. Alvin used Snotlout's sword to threaten both.

"Now Stoick, open the chest" he said with a smug smile

Without a doubt Stoick went the chest and opened it. They waited but nothing happened. Stoick looked rather surprise at the inside of the chest.

"That is most unfortunate, depending on where you stand I suppose"

Alvin dragged the two boys forwards so he could see inside the chest. In there they all saw one thing, a magnificent blade.

"The Storm Blade" and everyone gasped. The Storm Blade had been Grimbeard's magnificent sword, said to be the best of all.

"Good enough I would say," Alvin reached into the chest and pulled the sword out and threw Snotlout's into the water, "how does it feel Stoick to watch your ancestors precious swords held by no other than me"

Stoick only sneered at Alvin for he treasured his son more than any sword.

Then they heard a familiar sound and suddenly the floor before Alvin exploded in purple flames.

"**NOW!"** shouted Toothless before Hiccup grabbed Snotlout and pulled them out of Alvin's head lock. All Hel broke loose at that moment for Toothless had also struck the mast of the boat and it was falling down.

"You!" shouted Alvin as he charged at Hiccup, Stormblade now replacing his hand blade ready to strike him down. Toothless latched to Alvin's bladed arm, using his new set of teeth fort he first time to fight.

"Ahhh!" Alvin screamed a blood poured down his arm. He was sure the dragon had graced his bones.

"**That will teach you not to mess with us!" **growled Toothes with a mouth full of Vikings

"Let!" Alvin punched him in the middle of his eyes, "Go!" and then at top of his head. The poor dragon fell unconscious to the ship's floor.

"Toothless!" Hiccup ran to his dragon, trying to pick him up as the flames got hotter and hotter. Alvin took advantage of the distracted boy and raised his blade once again.

Roaaar!

But it was no a dragon that roared, but Fishlegs. Fishlegs was very mild mannered boy who always tried to see reason into things, but there was another side of him which was unknown to all, even him until that day. He charged like a bull and tackled Alvin with all his force making him crash into the already falling mast. This was enough to bring the mast down once and for all.

Alvin raised his blade to block Fishlegs launch.

"Berseker!" he shouted before kicked Fishlegs in the stomach, making him stumble back for a moment so he could get up.

The boat started to tilt and soon they knew they would all fall into the sea. Still Fishlegs kept on fighting with a ferocity never seen in a boy his age. His long due berserker blood had finally awakened and all it could see and understand was that he had to kill the man before him.

Hiccup watched unable to recognize his old friend. Toothless started to stir, "c'mon bud, we have to go!"

Meatlug knew of the danger her trainer was, but every time she tried to approach the boy would roar at her.

"Over here!" shouted Gobber as their boat pulled on the side of theirs.

Stoick grabbed the first child he could find, who was Snotlout and threw him over to the other boat.

"Hurry!" he shouted to the rest. Spitelout wasted no time and he too jumped to the other boat.

Stoick tried to reach for his son, but the flames had grown and there was too much smoke. He could no longer see the remaining two boys.

The boat finally gave into the weight of the fallen mast and it flipped on its back. Stoick barely had the chance to jump into Gobber's boat and watched in horror as the other boat trapped his son, Fishlegs and Toothless along with Alvin under it. Then even before he could shout his son's name, it sank.

"Hiccup!" he shouted in despair.

However Hiccup could not hear for the boat was sinking so fast to the bottom of the sea that he thought he was going to drown. For a moment, he really didn't care but then images he had seen in the mirror came back to him. If he died, it would be like running away from all his fears, and a big part of him didn't want that. He wanted to see his father smile proudly at him again and so many more things.

As if the gods had heard him, a strong hand took hold of him and pulled him into an air pocket that had been created when the boat flipped. They were still sinking, but at least now he could breathe. The first face he saw was that of Toothless, who was still dazed from the punches he had received. He had lit a small piece of lumber so they had a little bit of light.

"**Stupid Vikings" **he growled shaking his head.

"Hiccup?" he heard Fishlegs's scared voice.

"Fishlegs!" he gasped when he saw his terrified friend.

"Wh…where are we?" he asked looking around. There was a lot of water, and with him unable to swim he couldn't help being very scared.

"You don't remember?" Hiccup asked.

"No, but my face hurts a lot!" he cried out touching his cheek where Alvin had landed one mighty blow.

"You are a berserker boy," they both turned and stared at the glaring Alvin, "get used to it… or maybe not"

"**You!" **Toothless screeched before he got ready to shoot.

"**Don't! Or you will get us killed!" **Hiccup shouted before the dragon stopped, **"we are not done yet" **and glared at Alvin.

"He doesn't like me, does he?" Alvin said with a mocking smile.

Then their feet touched the seabed.

"To answer your question," Hiccup said feeling panic rising on his chest "we are at the bottom of the ocean"

"That's just great!" cried Fishlegs.

"Stop shouting," said Hiccup before he touched the bottom of the boat, which was not the ceiling, "the air pocket is getting smaller. Turn off the fire!" and Fishlegs slapped water until it was out.

"Now what smartass" Alvin grumbled.

"**Toothless, I need you to go see if we are not too far to swim back up"**

"**What is there for me?"**

"For Thor help you when we get out of this one," he grumbled, **"just do it before I punch you myself!"**

"**I was just joking" **grumbled Toothless before he swam out.

The minutes passed and though they tried to breathe as slow as possible they soon had to press their faces to what used to be the floor of the ship.

"Where in Hel is your mongrel," growled Alvin as they were reduced to their last breaths.

"Stop talking," whispered Fishlegs starting to feel true panic.

Then Toothless emerged, **"we are too far for your stupid Vikings to swim, but I found a cave not far from here"**

Hiccup was fast to tell them this, "Follow Toothless! Fishlegs you grab on to him and kick really hard" and so they swam taking the last of the air with them. Hadn't there been a little light coming from the surface they would have been in utter darkness. Then, attached to one of the cliff walls belonging to Berk he spotted a light. Toothless was taking them towards it. Trying to not think how much his lungs were burning to take another breath. They finally reached that light which was the entrance to the cave; they swam a short distance before surfacing into a cavern illuminated by Fire-worms.

Once they were all out of the water they saw it was a very large cavern. Oddly enough, there seemed to be a path carved through the middle of it. Maybe there was a way out, so they walked straight ahead.

"**We should kill him," **Toothless said, **"why haven't we killed him?"**

"**We don't know what we might find here," **Hiccup told him, **"we might need his brute strength" **also, he had never killed a man before and was in no rush for it.

"**Fine," **growled Toothless.

Meanwhile Alvin was surprised at hearing the boy talk to his dragon. He would have thought Stoick who was so attached to the traditions would have banished the boy by now, but here he was. He was the strangest heir Alvin had ever met and he guessed the most dangerous too.

At the end of the path they found a door.

_**DO NOT OPEN THIS DOOR**_

_**UNLESS YOU ARE THE TRUE HEIR OF HEIR TO GRIMBEARD THE GASTLY**_

_**DEATH AWAYS THOSE WHO DARE NOT LISTEN**_

And right below it there was an empty space where something was missing; a very familiar shape that burned into Hiccup's leg.

"So, this is what it meant that only the heir of the Hooligans could find the treasure" Alvin recalled the warning in the now destroyed coffin he had found. In a smooth movement he took hold of Fishlegs and threatened him with his bladed hand.

"This again!" Hiccup couldn't help sound exasperated. Did this guy not know anything else but threaten kids?

"I don't think we are in a position to complain," gulped Fishlegs.

"Just open the door," he laughed grimly, "this is the true treasure and I bet you knew it"

Hiccup sighed and brought out the piece of paper he found and finally read it.

**If you have comet his far, it means you are my true heir**

**Through the island of Berk, for where else should a Viking hide his treasure**

**There are seven doors, all with a lock that can only be opened by the especial key you have found**

**They are found deep under water, and you must have trust in your dragon to find them.**

**Inside riches await you, but beware for there are things that go unseen that will not let you have them so easily**

**To you, my heir, I wish you the best of luck.**

It was not a riddle but mostly a congratulations note. Hiccup took a deep breath and brought out the key before placing it in its place. There were mechanical sounds all over the wall before the door slid to the side. Inside, all of them gasped including Toothless, was a treasure so great that it seemed to not end. A gigantic cavern almost filled to the brim with gold, jewels, magnificent weapons and so much more.

Alvin released Fishlegs in his amazement and went to pick up a beautiful sword with a golden hilt with jewels encrusted on it.

Hiccup and Fishlegs jumped when the door closed behind them, trapping them inside with the murderous, treasure hungry Alvin.

"So, here we are" Alvin said putting the sword down and turning to face them.

"You… you said you would let me go if I helped you find the treasure" Hiccup said when he caught a glint of murderous madness in the man's eyes.

"That was before your dear father interfered," Alvin said, "now Grimbeard's heir, you will die here and your friends too"


	29. The True Treasure and Strangulator

Alvin was once a long time ago a Hairy Hooligan. He had been the so called friends of Stoick and deadly enemy of Valhallarama, that weird gal that never gave him even an ounce of trust. She was smart and very observant to his true nature. Hadn't been for her, he would have finished Stoick's life a long time ago. In his youth, all he ever wanted was the power over the tribe. As he grew older, so did his desire for power.

When she exposed him to the tribe and the many crimes he had already committed behind their backs, his hate for her only doubled. When he learned she married Stoick, his hate became infinite for both. In his exile he remembered her bright green eyes and smart mouth.

Now standing before him was the result of their union; a skinny boy who was as smart as his mother and as dangerous as his father though he might not look like it. Though he would never admit it, he feared this boy. He was a different kind of brave, the kind that thought out through his fears and conquered them.

Even now, though his eyes were full of fear, the boy studied his moves with deep calculation. He was looking for a gap on his defense instead of attacking blindly.

Hiccup jumped to the side before Alvin's blow could take away his head. He drew his sword out in time to repel another of his launches.

Toothless readied a shot to blast the large Viking away before Alvin picked a nearby shield, one with encrusted precious stones, and threw it at him. The young dragon was hit on the head, once again, and cursed loudly.

"**I really hate that guy!" **screeched Toothless leaning against a pile of gold coins trying to regain his bearings.

"C'mon berserker blood!" cursed Fishlegs holding his sword shaking, but his berserker blood was resting at that time and refused to be awakened.

Hiccup moved as fast as he could through the piles of gold dodging Alvin's launches.

"Stand still!" Alvin shouted exasperated.

The boy bent back in a way that would have made any grown man fall on his back and jumped over his low thrusts like a deer galloping through the meadows. At one point he even slipped between his legs, almost throwing him off balance.

Summoning all his speed, he turned on his axis as fast as he could and landed a firm fist on the boy's side. Hiccup was thrown back into another pile of gold, his sword flew out of his hand and landed somewhere else unseen to him. This can't be happening; he thought scrambling up the pile of gold looking for his sword. He only had his knife left on his boot and he knew this would not be enough to defeat Alvin.

Alvin's shadow covered him and his breathing stopped.

"**Got you!"** screeched Toothless attaching himself to Alvin's back and then sinking his teeth. Hiccup rolled down the golden hill now looking for any sword.

"Get off me you demon!" screamed Alvin trying to pry Toothless off his back.

"**I will teach you to never hit a dragon in the face! STUPID VIKING!" **or so Hiccup thought Toothless said as he had a mouth full of Viking. It was hard to understand anyone with a mouthful.

Hiccup hurried to look for any sword before Alvin really hurt his dragon. He reached the bottom of the pile and then tripped with something. He fell flat on his face, the gold coins hurting his teeth before he turned on his back and saw a rather plain handle sticking out of among the coins. He pulled it out easily and was delighted to find it as light as his own sword.

It was nothing extraordinary really; the edges were even a little rusty.

"Rha!" shouted Alvin as he finally dislodged Toothless off his shoulder and slammed him down on the gold, "I am tired of you!"

"**Like wise!" **hissed Toothless before making a quick shot at Alvin's chest. He didn't have enough time to charge it, so the most he did was throw the Viking off balance so that he could get back up. He started to shoot at the Viking who rolled and jumped over his shots. Toothless wished to give him a really big one but feared that if he did, the man would have the chance to throw something else at his head. And his head had already received enough hits for a life time in those past days.

Hiccup was halfway up the hill when he heard Fishlegs shout at him.

"Hiccup! Your sword!" and he turned just in time to catch his sword which Fishlegs had gone through so much trouble into finding amongst the piles of gold. Without thinking, for he had already found one sword, he caught the other sword with his left hand. Then he ran up the remaining of the hill not realizing what he had done.

Fishlegs in the other hand was gaping at him for he had realized something that would change Hiccup's life forever.

He arrived in just the nick of time for Toothless had run out of shots and Alvin was ready to bring his bladed hand down on the dragon. Using his right hand he blocked that blow. Alvin taking the chance used his other hand and brought down a blade he had found among the gold to swipe at Hiccup's neck, but without thinking Hiccup brought his left hand up and blocked it perfectly.

Ambidextrousness was not a word that yet reached the Vikings at that time, but nonetheless Hiccup understood perfectly that he was different in such way.

Astrid had always commented that he was missing something while she taught him the basics but neither of them could figure out what it was. Hiccup knew what it was the moment he blocked with his left hand. He pushed forwards, and the surprised Alvin stood back with glaring eyes. He dropped the sword he had found for it stung his hand with the force he had put into the blow. Hiccup in the other hand seemed unaffected at using his left hand. Alvin had never seen someone like this, and was reminded once again that the boy was a spawn of two opposite forces.

After that day, Hiccup would have a lot of incredible sword battles. He would become renowned for never using a shield, but two swords instead. He would be called a ghost many times as he moved fluently through fighting masses and ended his enemies fast before moving up to the next. He would be proud of many of his battles, but this one was not one of them. For now, he was a child and his skills though good, were far from their someday to be perfection.

Still, he gave Alvin quite a challenge. He would block with one hand and then attack with the other in no particular order. Still, Hiccup was a child and did not know yet the feeling of spilling true blood. The most he did was grace the man's clothing and spill a few drops.

Alvin was not a skilled sword fighter. He was a man of instinct when it came to the art. Had he been as good as others such as Stoick, he would have long ago be done with little Hiccup.

Still, this was a battle Hiccup would remember not with pride but astonishment. It was not every day you find you have only been working at half capacity and your gift was an extraordinary one. There he was, a young boy fighting a seasoned Viking warrior with movements that would have made Odin cry with pride.

Toothless who was out of shots assisted his best by trying to drop heavy things at to top Alvin's head. A few landed making the grown man stumble, and at such times Toothless would shout **"REVENGE!" **or **"Pay back!"** and so on.

"You are cheating!" shouted Alvin.

"Like you care for a fair fight!" shouted Fishlegs as he handed Toothless another piece of heavy gold for the dragon to carry.

Hiccup said nothing for a moment as he concentrated on the fight before him. He was actually enjoying it, believe it or not. He found himself smiling with excitement. His blood was flowing faster than ever before, his heart pulsing in his ears as he found a new love that had nothing to do with books, or dragons, or the wonders of the world.

"I can handle him on my own!" he shouted at his friends. Not a good idea.

"Are you barking mad!" shouted Fishlegs, "don't stop Toothless or he is going to get himself killed!"

The dragon agreed as he dropped another object at top of Alvin, a beautiful golden vase with intricate patterns. Alvin caught the vase and with a mighty throw, threw it back to Toothless, taking him by surprise and knocking him off the air. The dragon fell down at top of Fishlegs and both went rolling down the gold hill screaming.

"Now let's fight for real!" laughed Alvin before his movement became faster and heavier. Hiccup felt the lean muscles on his arms protest every time he had to block by crossing his swords. Not a good idea at all.

"You are fighting a child! How low could you get!" Hiccup shouted in fear.

"I am Alvin the Treacherous! What did you expect!" laughed the man again as he raised his sword and brought it down with so much force that Hiccup knew that if he tried to block it he would fall back and surely die. So, instead he jumped back and the sword embedded instead on the mound of gold. The fight would have continued, hadn't it been for the hill starting to move.

**Inside riches await you, but beware for there are things that go unseen that will not let you have them so easily**

Hiccup recalled the last of the message in Grimbeard's final note.

He stood back as several white, fat-like tentacles started to sneak out of the piles of gold. Alvin was not as fast and soon he was wrapped by one of them. Then the terrifying creature stood up, dropping its golden blanket to reveal a creature Hiccup never thought to be real but here it was. A Monstrous Strangulator, the very same one that had devoured the young and rebellious Whispering Death only a few days ago.

Hiccup could barely hear Alvin's screams over his gasping breaths.

This creature was so scary and at the same time so absurd that he wondered if he was dreaming. The beast was transparent like water and just as shapeless, its long white tentacles came out of its body at random places, moving hypnotically as they searched for another victim. This creature that had only lived in the dark only had two little black dots for eyes, and could see almost nothing that wasn't at least three feet in front of it. Below its little eyes there was a mouth he had only seen in octopuses.

For a moment, he wished the little Fire-worms who had followed them into the cave would go away, for seeing this creature alone was making him sick. It moved like a snake which made it even more horrible to see how the poor dragons it had caught were being slowly digested with the acids of its body.

"Help!" Alvin shouted as the tentacle that surrounded him brought him towards the shapeless head of the Strangulator.

"**Grubbings?" **and though he looked very little like a dragon, for exception of the small transparent wings on its back and the slightly long head, Hiccup felt relief at hearing it was a dragon after all. Maybe they were not completely lost. He had learned only a few months ago that if you could talk to your enemy, then maybe you could also trick it, **"Grubbings dis de me?" **or maybe he was wrong, for he knew this was Dragonese but a much older dialect.

Alvin squirmed in the tentacle, trying to free his sword hand but only ended up upsetting the large beast. The Monstrous Strangulator had never had seen a human before and had little patience for new things.

"**Grubbings," **the dragon like creature declared Alvin to be as the tip of his sword graced his tentacle, **"Now me eat" **and it brought forwards another tentacle, this one with a sting that resembled a viper's fang. Immediately Hiccup knew they were in a bigger problem than before. The sting went to Alvin's heart (if there was such a thing) and immediately he was limp in the Strangulator's tentacle. The pucker that worked as it mouth which had been the size of a small Terrible Terror, expanded until it was big enough to swallow Alvin whole.

Hiccup felt the ground move beneath his feet as his stomach lurch. He watched in horror as Alvin's body moved down the transparent organs of the beast until it bumped against the Whispering Death it had eaten not long ago. There he was to wait until he was completely discomposed by the acids.

"Get away!" Hiccup shouted at his friends who were standing still watching the great creature in as much horror as himself. He should have said nothing, for this brought the attention of the beast to him. The nearest tentacle, which Hiccup hadn't seen for it had been hidden under the gold piles, wrapped around him and brought him towards the face of the creature.

"**Toothless! Come here!" **he shouted hoping the Strangulator didn't understand their form of Dragonese so easily.

"**Are you mad?!" **

"**Just come here!" **he shouted before the dragon flew as close as possible to him. His mind was working in overdrive, but he knew if there was something he could do, he would need help. As the tentacle tightened, an idea came to be. Then he whispered to the dragon.

"**You are mad!" **but the dragon was smiling, for he loved Hiccup's mad plans.

"**Just do it!" **he cried as the tentacle wrapped tighter around him.

"**Ya snotta grubbings? Ya speak?" **it asked.

"**Ye…ssee!"** he said getting an idea of this old dialect, **"me ow-in-di-tummy! Buckets wobblediguts!"** hopefully if it thought him to be very poisonous, it would let him go.

"**Wobbledigut?" **and it showed Hiccup one of his tentacles, **"me nee-ha grubbings speak. Tricky grubbing" **he wrapped his tentacles tighter around Hiccup, he did not like when the food could speak, **"me eat now tricky grubbing. Nee-ha escape"**

"**How?" **he asked hoping to be right.

"**How?" **the creature asked himself, **"squishe of course!"**

"**Crumply, ya crumply" **sighed Hiccup, calling the creature old, thought he was trying to call him boring.

"**Warra!?" **he shouted in outrage but also loosened his hold on Hiccup, **"rude grubbing!"**

Hiccup took a deep breath of needed air, **"ne fire? Ne claws? Ne fangs?"**

"**Of course!" **

"**Greenblood-speak!" **Hiccup called him a liar before the tentacle wrapped tightly around him again, **"ne wobbledigut?"**

"**Yessee!" **confirmed the Strangulator excitedly before showing Hiccup his sting.

Toothless took this as a cue and assaulted the beast.

"**Surprise!" **he shouted appearing before the small eyes of the creature, scaring him for a moment.

"**Nee-ha tricky!"** and it reached for Toothless, but he was too fast and it got away, **"now me eat!"** and he stung Hiccup with its sting in the place where his small heart was.

"**So, how does it work? The poison, I mean" **he asked carelessly, slightly more relaxed.

"**Body freezes first," **and Hiccup watched curiously as the tentacles froze stiffly, **"ya turn leafy" **and it tried to see if Hiccup was turning green, but failed to notice his transparency was being replaced by a solid forest green, **"ya mind zuzzing forever"**

"**Forever?" **Hiccup asked as he watched the green crawled up the head of the Strangulator, **"ne ouch?"**

"**Very ouch" **it crackled before his crackle turned into a shrill scream **"ahhhh!"** dropped Hiccup and then laid still and very **zuzzing forever, **which meant it was dead.

"What was that about?" Fishlegs asked as he hurried to his friend. He was sure he had seen the beast poison Hiccup.

"Here" Hiccup said showing him the stingless tentacle that had wrapped around him and showed him the place where the beast had stung itself, "while Toothless distracted him, I placed the end of the tentacle over my heart. That thing was very stupid. It had little to no control over its limbs, so when he poisoned himself, he barely noticed"

"You scare me some times," admitted Fishlegs, but then he laughed, "Just wait until everyone hears this back home! Snotlout is going to be so pissed when he sees the treasure only the rightful heir could have found!"

"Yes, I guess. But we are still trapped in here"

"You are right," he sighed realizing their grim situation was still grim, "that thing had to hunt somehow, there has to be an exit around here

"**There are some tunnels over there" **Toothless said pointing with his head

"There we go, we can go home," Hiccup said with a smile.

"**Not a good idea" **the dragon said

"**Why not?"**

"**Other creatures live in them, not a good idea"**

"I imagine he doesn't know either"

They walked back to the door, maybe they could go back through where they entered. On the door they found the true last note from Grimbeard.

_**To my heir**_

_**I hope this means you defeated Strangulator, which I left here as an egg**_

_**He shouldn't be too smart, so as long as you can speak Dragonese you should have no trouble**_

_**I hid my treasure in the Calivan caves knowing only my heir would be able to find it**_

_**An heir like the one I once had, my own son. At that time I was too blind and now as an old man I repent**_

_**I hid my treasure so no one would be eaten by my greed like I was**_

_**As my heir, you should be able to understand that our tribe is more than likely not ready for a treasure of this size**_

_**You know what to do.**_

_**Ps. your dragon, who I hope you trust, should be able to help you back home.**_

_**Grimbeard the Ghastly**_

"So, what are you going to do?" Fishlegs asked him. Wordlessly Hiccup took his small knife from his boot and carved on the door.

_**STILL NOT READY**_

And attached the note back to the door before opening it and walking out as if it was just like any other door and not one guarding riches.

"What do you mean by not ready?" Fishlegs asked him as he followed him outside.

Hiccup closed the door and then removed the key before putting it away.

"Can you imagine what would happen if we took all of this back to the village?" he asked, "It would be a complete disaster. We are not used to riches like this. Can you imagine how many would brag about it? Everyone would be fighting each other and imagine what the other tribes would do. They would unite against us just to get their hand on the treasure"

"I see…" Fishlegs understood, but couldn't help being disappointed.

"When we return home, we will tell everyone we just washed on the shore. Nothing about this place"

Once they reached the entrance of the cavern, they sat trying to think of a way to leave. It was indeed far for them to swim back. Meanwhile Toothless went fishing and it was then that Hiccup came up with an idea, though a disgusting one on Fishlegs' opinion but it was still an idea.

There were special types of dragons like Toothless who had gills as well as lungs and because of that would have no trouble sharing the air he filtered with them. This meant they would have to let the dragon blow air into their mouths.

"**Just don't get the wrong idea," **laughed Toothless.

Hiccup preferred not to remember such an event, but Toothless would make sure to remind him every once in a while by making a kissy face. It was not funny; Hiccup would tell himself before laughing. He was thankful his actual first kiss had come from a girl and not the useless reptile. He couldn't say the same for Fishlegs.

Once they reached the surface they took hold of some debris the sunken boat had left behind and kicked towards the shore.

"You know, I think destiny might be real" Fishlegs said, "why else would she lead you to the treasure like that to just leave it behind"

"You know I don't believe in such things" Hiccup said kicking fast and trying to ignore once again the doings of that cruel lady.

When they finally reached the shore, no one was there. They walked back to the village in silence worried of what they might find. Berk wasn't usually this quiet.

They didn't know that the news of the drowning of the heir had spread like fire in the village. Everyone had shut themselves in their homes to mourn. By chance, Gobber the Belch had been going over some of little Hiccup's thing when he spotted them outside the smithy's window.

"THEY ARE ALIVE!"was his mighty shout and soon enough all of the tribe was out of their homes and rushing to them.

Stoick who had holed himself in the hall came out running and when he saw his son, he rushed to give him a bone shattering hug.

"You are okay!" he shouted and everyone cheered.

"Can't… can't breathe," Hiccup said before his father put him down.

"Tonight we celebrate!" shouted Gobber before everyone rushed to the main hall and started to prepare a feast.

At that moment Hiccup didn't care if it was destiny's doing or not but he felt like the most fortunate person in the world, and this was more wonderful than any treasure that ever existed.


	30. Burgulars Among Other Things Arc 2 End

Author's note: This is the last chapter of Arc 2. Next Arc will be truly updated next Tuesday. For the bits of old Dragonese I recommend to visiting the HTTYD website for the books. They got a Dragonese dictionary, very fun to read.

888

Camicazi felt her mouth go dry as Astrid steered Thorn over the now white bones of what was once the Green Death. She had heard the rumors but didn't think them true until she saw them herself.

"And… and there were two of these things?" she asked trying not to shiver

"Yes, the Green Death and the Red Death," Astrid said calmly.

"Is it true the heir of the tribe defeated them?" Camicazi was having second doubts about stealing from this tribe.

"Not alone," Astrid tried not to laugh. She wondered what image Camicazi had of Hiccup, "all the trainees and their dragons helped, though he did make the last one explode"

"Do you hear that?" Camicazi asked as they got close to the village. The great hall was booming with noise of celebration. They could both almost bet the whole tribe was in there.

Astrid steered the dragon lower so they wouldn't be spotted before entering through the back of the Hofferson stables. She led Thorn to the empty space Stormfly had left so it would pass hopefully unnoticed.

"Not bad," Camicazi said looking at the sleeping Nadders. They were well bred just as Astrid had bragged.

"Who goes there?" someone called out from the doors of the stables.

Camicazi took her sword out right away as a man entered the stables. She was able to tell he was very tall and strong from his shadow.

"Don't," whispered Astrid before she turned to the man who had stopped at the entrance, "it's me, father," she called.

"Astrid?" Asmund ran to her and once he was close enough to see that it was indeed his daughter he embraced her with all his strength "thank Thor and Odin and all the gods for this wonderful day"

"Father!" laughed Astrid, "you are going to get us caught" but still she laughed.

"Caught?" and then he noticed the other girl in the room "Camicazi?"

"How do you know my name?" the girl glared.

"Your mother has written of you many times," Asmund said trying to offer a kind smile, "you two must come inside. It has been too long since I last saw you my child. No one else is at home and won't be for a while"

"When we arrived we saw there was a celebration at the hall, what happened?" Astrid asked

"Your friends Hiccup and Fishlegs did the unbelievable once again, but why don't you ask them yourself?"

"You know I can't" she shook her head sadly.

"You know _he_ won't judge you Astrid. He is a good boy" Asmund also hoped his daughter would decide to stay a little longer.

"Astrid, remember what we came here for?" Camicazi said impatiently.

"Let's just join him for dinner, this one time. The chief usually stays up very late when there is a celebration"

"Fine" Camicazi sighed hating how happy Astrid sounded at meeting her father again.

Asmund led them through the back of his house and offered a simple stew he had prepared.

"So you can cook?" Astrid asked with a teasing smile.

"I will have you know missy that I am a great cook, I just had forgotten with you insisting on learning how to cook"

Camicazi ate silently and watched them talk as if they were not just father and daughter, but also good friends. She had never seen Astrid laugh or talk so much. Asmund was a smart man, she hated to admit, but then again his mother thought him a worthy man.

"We must go father, there is still something we need to do" Astrid said unable to meet his eyes.

"You are Bertha's children after all," Asmund sighed, "just be careful"

"You are not going to stop us?" Camicazi asked not believing what she heard.

Asmund shrugged, "you are my children; the last thing is for either of you to get hurt"

Camicazi was at loss of words. This man was acknowledging her as his daughter, something she thought she would never hear. She was ready to shout at him for thinking she needed him when Astrid spoke.

"Thank you father, I hope to see you again soon"

"Me too girls, now run along" he offered them a kind smile before they left through the back door.

Astrid said nothing of the meeting, but Camicazi kept looking back at the house with the man that had fathered her. He was very different from the other men she had met. He was not loud, or condescending, or anything of the sort.

"Shh…" Astrid pulled her to back of the Chief's house, "they don't usually lock the back door" she said opening it before they went through what was the kitchen area.

"That was too easy" Camicazi said looking around the very tidy kitchen.

"Hurry," Astrid led her to the living room area where an injured Thornado was sleeping. Thorch was standing straight and staring at them in surprise.

"Dragon," Camicazi was ready to grab her sword when Astrid placed a hand over hers.

"Let me," Astrid said before she walked up to the dragon.

"**Long time no see girl," **and Camicazi gaped as the dragon smiled at Astrid before the girl scratched the side of its head, **"good human, now more to the left"**

"Go get what you need," Astrid told her as she entertained the dragon.

Camicazi wasted no time and went to the master bedroom which was found in the upper floor. She grabbed the mightiest axe she could find, "done" and then joined Astrid downstairs "what about the dragon?"

"He knows me, he won't say anything" she said simply before they heard voices, "here!" she pulled Camicazi under a closet below the stairs.

Both were silent as they heard someone enter the house through the front door.

"Did you see Snotlout's face! It was priceless" Astrid recognized Fishlegs' voice, "he was so crossed that everyone was happy to see you alive!"

"Please, don't talk so loud. My head is killing me" Hiccup said before his dragon agreed with him.

"**Stupid Vikings and their stupid silly juice" **mead was not meant to be drank by dragons, but Toothless hadn't known at the time.

"Never again," groaned Hiccup collapsing on his father's chair, "what was I thinking?"

One moment he was laughing with his friend along with the Thorston twins and Speedifist and the next thing he knew he was drinking mead as if it was water. He was already twelve years old and could have drunk it for a while, but never tried it until that night. What a mistake that had been.

"I don't know actually" laughed Fishlegs, "but you beat Tuffnut, that's something"

"Yeah," laughed Hiccup, "at least I didn't puke my guts in front of everyone"

"You are looking a little pale, I think you should go lay down"

"Fine," yawned Hiccup, "I am beat anyways"

"See you tomorrow" Fishlegs said.

"Just not too early," Hiccup said before his friend laughed and left.

Astrid felt as if her heart was about to burst from her chest.

"What is he saying?" Camicazi asked before Astrid realized Hiccup was talking to Toothless.

"**Bring that bucket upstairs please, we might need it" **Hiccup groaned.

"**Stop shouting" **Toothless whined.

"**I am not, you drunk dragon" **laughed Hiccup before they heard them go up the stairs.

"Let's get out of here," Astrid said opening the door carefully.

"Not until I see this guy. He made a dragon explode"

"That's a bad idea" Astrid said shaking her head.

"You are not afraid, are you?" Camicazi teased.

"Let's just wait a few minutes until they are asleep and then sneak out through his window" she said fiercely, she was not afraid!

They listened to the movement upstairs until it was all quiet. Silently the Bog Burglars opened the door to Hiccup's room. There was a lonely candle resting on a table, but it was enough for them to see the boy lying on his side and away from them.

"He is tiny" whispered Camicazi.

"But very smart" Astrid added, "now let's get out of here" she said looking at the open window.

Camicazi was already at the window when she realized Astrid was standing by the table.

"What are you waiting for?" she whispered harshly.

"I want to take something," Astrid said looking at what was in the table.

Camicazi was surprised but didn't complain. She crawled out the window and into the roof to wait for her to make up her mind. Astrid took her opportunity and pulled out a letter she had written to Hiccup and placed it on the table.

"**Hello there," **she turned to stare at the smiling Toothless, **"isn't it a little late for a lover's visit?"**

Astrid had no idea what the dragon was saying, but she didn't like his smile, "don't wake him up, please"

"**Me? Wake him up?" **

"Please," she begged again.

"**Alright, alright," **Toothless said before going back to sleep.

Astrid sighed before taking a drawing of a Nadder she really liked and then left the room through the window.

"Took you long enough," Camicazi glared at her, but didn't say more in the matter before they left.

As they flew away from Berk she kept touching the drawing in her bag. It was the first thing she had ever burgled.

888

Hiccup woke up with a dragon sized headache. He was definitely going to wait a few more years before he tried mead again. He saw a block of ice, courtesy of his father on a chair near his bed. He picked it up and placed it at top of his head. He spotted Toothless with one tied to his head as well.

"**I swear I won't ever steal your father's breakfast again," **the dragon said, **"oh and someone visited you last night, but you were asleep"**

"**Who?" **Hiccup asked holding the ice to his head.

"**She left you something," **he said looking towards Hiccup's work table.

She? He wondered curiously to his work table and spotted there a letter. He opened it and the read the first lines before he understood where it came from. He walked back to his bed not believing what he held in his hands. He looked at the letter again and read.

_**I know I have taken a long time, but here is the truth.**_

_**My mother is a Bog Burglar, Chief Bertha to be exact.**_

_**I have always wanted to be like her, not saying that I think Berk is bad.**_

_**It didn't turn out like I thought it was going to be.**_

_**Actually, after spending some time with them now I see how good Berk was.**_

_**Still, my place is now with them, and I hope you understand.**_

_**I really want us to remain friends, but if you don't want to, I understand.**_

_**You're the heir of the Hairy Hooligans, after all.**_

_**I have a sister, her name is Camicazi. She is the heir here.**_

_**She is a real pain, not as bad as Snotlout but still a pain.**_

_**I help her burgle stuff, since we are Bog Burglars and I, her bodyguard.**_

_**I hope your father doesn't get too upset for whatever it is that she takes.**_

_**It was thanks to this that I was able to leave you this letter.**_

_**I want to keep writing to you Hiccup.**_

_**If you want to write to me, write a letter and give it to Toothless**_

_**Tell him to fly to the bones of the Green Death and Stormfly will be waiting for him under the light of the full moon.**_

_**She will bring the letter back to me.**_

_**We can do this every Full moon and every New moon.**_

_**I miss you and our friends.**_

_**Astrid**_

Hiccup read the letter a few more times and smiled. He was not upset. It all actually made sense. The full moon was only a few nights away, so he went to his work table and started writing a response.

_**You make a pretty good Bog Burglar.**_

_**You took my drawing of one of your father's dragons.**_

_**I almost didn't notice.**_

_**I also want us to remain friends, but we must be careful.**_

_**I know my father would be very upset with me, but I don't know what Bertha might do to you.**_

_**I hope you start getting along with your sister. She sounds like a handful.**_

_**Whatever it is she took, I will try to replace it. Don't worry.**_

_**If you were here the night we returned then you must have seen the celebration at the great hall.**_

_**It's a crazy story that I will beg you to keep in secret.**_

_**It will only be you, Fishlegs, Toothless and I that know.**_

_**The other day a lot of crazy things happened, crazier than usual. **_

_**Though Fishlegs and Toothless were there to help me, I still wished you had been there as well. **_

_**Not just because you are brave and strong, but because I miss you a lot. **_

_**Laugh at me and call me soft if you must, but this is the truth. **_

_**Anyways, this all started with another one of Gobber's crazy ideas to teach us piracy. **_

_**Though is summer still, the sea and the wind was restless…**_

And he forgot all about his headache and the world for a few hours.

8888

**I am sorry to say this was not the end of Alvin the Treacherous. I don't know how he did it, but he escaped the guts of the Strangulator and somehow made it out of the cave. As for the treasure, it still is where I left it. The greed of humans has only grown, and bringing out such a treasure would just create more mistrust among us. However, the one thing I did take with me was that plain sword which I later found had a name, Endeavor. This was actually Grimbeard's favorite sword. He said so in the message he left inside the hilt. The Storm Blade was flashy and all, but not too comfortable to handle. **

**What an amazing time that was for me. So young and so gullible. Still those feelings are still in these letters we wrote to each other hoping we wouldn't get caught. The letters I received from here are somewhere safe, if I could just remember where they are. It was thanks to Astrid that gave my first steps towards one of my favorite things, sword fighting. Even now at my old age I still spar with the young warriors, giving them a run for their money.**

**Though I accomplished a lot in that adventure, I assure you I still had a lot to grow. It was in the middle of that autumn that I realized just how much.**

**END OF ARC 2**

**ARC 3 How to Speak Dragonese the Hard Way**


	31. Arc 3 Secret Letters in the Viking Times

Author's Note: The drawings I wrote of in this chapter can be found in my deviantart gallery. The link can be found in my profile for whoever is interested. This is just a short introduction to the beginning of Arc Three. A little sappy but I hope you like it.

888

The moon was full in the night sky illuminating the restless sea waters with her silvery light. Stormfly made a sharp descend from among the clouds until she was at eye level with the tips of the monstrous ribs that were once the Green Death. Sitting at one of those tips was Toothless dozing off.

"**Hey," **she greeted landing on the opposite rib from his.

"**Hey newt's breath" **the sleepy dragon yawned.

"**At least I don't look like one. You got the letter?" **she responded a little worried that someone might spot them. She wasn't entirely sure what the issue was between Astrid's new home and the old one, but she thought wise to keep out of it. After all, Vikings were just plain crazy sometimes.

"**Maybe, it all depends on what there is for me" **Toothless offered her a new teeth filled smile, but Stormfly could care less.

"**You son of Jormungand!" **she couldn't spot the letter. She hoped she wouldn't have to return with bad news to Astrid. Just thinking of her hopeful face when she sent her off made her insides twist in pain.

"**Don't get your spikes in a bunch!" **laughed Toothless, **"one would think you care for the girl"**

"**You are one to talk" **Stormfly sneered, **"Give it already"**

Toothless brought his tail forwards where a small yet long leather bag hung. Hiccup had sewed it himself to keep their messages dry and safe. Stormfly flew over Toothless and picked it from him.

"**This better be worth it," **she crowned before she heard Toothless chuckle. She would find soon enough.

888

Astrid waited by the stables in the earliest hours of the day when she spotted Stormfly returning. She was fast to open the door to the stables to let her dragon in. Holding a torch close to her chest and the leather bag on the other, she walked her dragon to her stable before helping her arrange her nest for a well deserved rest. Once she was sure her dragon was well and sleeping she snuck out and went to the woods.

Dawn was making its way across the horizon. The dark blue and blacks of the night were chased away by red and oranges like those of a dragon's flame. She walked enjoying the feeling of the fresh morning air towards one of the cliffs that surrounded their island where she waited until the sun was a little higher before putting off her torch. Then she sat on the still green grass, feeling the dampness sink into her behind but didn't mind. Her attention was fully in the curious black leather bag. The stitches were very small but strong too and it was covered in so many patterns. The lines intertwined with each other in such way that she even felt dizzy. Among the patterns she could see Nadders and dragons like Toothless pop up here and there, almost as if they were hiding. Then there was the Valknut close to the opening of the bag.

Her heart raced for the Valknut was Odin's symbol for binding and unbinding. She wondered which meaning was for her. She stared at the Valknut; the three interlaced triangles that composed it for some time. Once she believed herself ready, she opened the rich leather bag and took out a thick scroll composed of many pages. She unrolled it carefully before she spotted the beginning of Hiccup's letter.

Astrid released a breath she didn't knew she had been holding when she read he wanted to remain friends with her. She continued to read the extensive letter in wonder and sometimes anger at Hiccup for putting himself in so much risk. She wished she had been there to teach this Alvin not to mess with her friends and to call Snotlout a coward to his face. Then she read about the treasure and wished then more than anything in the world that she had been there to see it and help her friends. She read how Hiccup thought of defeating the Strangulator and had the sudden need to strangle him. He took a big chance letting it sting him. What if it had chosen instead to sting his arm or leg? Then his so clever plan wouldn't have been so clever.

Then all her anger faded when she found in the following page a poem.

_**In the summer night**_

_**I hear the dragons chat**_

_**They talk of a knight**_

_**And an immense hawk**_

_**8**_

_**They talk of another land**_

_**They talk of flying away**_

_**They say they got everything planned**_

_**They gather by the brae**_

_**8**_

_**I follow them in the silence**_

_**And find them gathered under the north lights**_

_**They talk about leaving their grievance**_

_**They talk out of spite**_

_**8**_

_**In the summer night**_

_**I watch the dragons jest**_

_**They say their owners aren't bright**_

_**No better than a pest**_

_**8**_

_**Eventually dawn comes**_

_**And the plans are disregarded**_

_**They hear the Viking drums**_

_**But they are not thwarted**_

_**8**_

_**For at home they are waited for**_

_**It's time for the morning meal**_

_**Their owners wait for them at the door**_

_**One can only wonder what they really feel**_

Astrid laughed until her cheeks hurt. Only Hiccup who could hear the dragons' complains would be able to write something like this. She hoped for more poems so she turned to the next page, but instead she found a drawing of her father leaning down as he checked a small Nadder she did not recognize. At the bottom of the page she read.

'_**Your father found this Nadder alone in the woods. He asked me to help find the mother but sadly enough I found she was no more. Your father took the young Nadder in and named him Fire Heart for he is a brave one. He likes your father a lot, might be because your father spoils him'**_

And Astrid could see through the lines of coal that the Nadder did like her father a lot. Her father's smile was bright and she thanked Hiccup for helping her to never forget it. She moved to the next picture and saw one of her best friends. Ruffnut had mischievous smile as she leaned down plotting something probably. She hadn't changed much since she last saw her. Maybe she had gotten taller, but it was a little hard to say through the drawing.

"_**Ruff has been restless since you left. She does not get along with Heather, so she has more time to plot than to talk to someone. She no longer hangs out with Snotlout. Actually, she is becoming sort of a friend. A crazy one, but still a friend"**_

And Astrid felt as if something had changed in the drawing and for some reason she didn't like it so much anymore. She didn't realize this, but she didn't like that through Hiccup's eyes her friend looked so nice. She turned to the next drawing and saw Tuffnut looking rather confused as he searched his head for his missing helmet. In the corner of the page she spotted the helmet being carried away by a dragon's claw.

"_**Tuff made the wrong choice to call Toothless a pipsqueak. He did not take it well at all"**_

And she laughed again before turning to the next page. Her laughter stopped and she saw the narrowed eyes of Snotlout. She was not sure if he was smiling or scowling, maybe it was both. Hiccup was rather brief about this.

"_**Had to draw him from afar"**_

She turned to the next page and her frown only deepened. Heather was in the next drawing, but she held a cruel smile she hadn't seen before. She knew from Hiccup's letter that she could not be trusted, but it still was quite a surprise. Hiccup had drawn her beautifully, for it was true she was pretty, but when he got to her expression she couldn't help to wonder if maybe he was letting his emotions affect his perception. Hiccup didn't write anything about her, which struck her as rather unlike Hiccup.

She moved to the next picture and her smile returned. It was Speedifist who was not as annoying like most boys. He was laughing and she wondered if Hiccup had drawn him while he was in one of his silly competitions with Tuffnut. She was thankful that the taller boy had actually stood up for Hiccup when Heather was trying to insult him.

"_**Speedifist has also stopped hanging out with Snotlout and actually talks to Fishlegs and I about some dragons he is curious about. I also think he might like Ruffnut, but I don't dare ask him. What do you think?"**_

Of course he likes her, Astrid laughed, since she could remember Speedifist had been pinning for her. She had no idea if Ruff realized this because she usually spoke of him as if she was just another brother. She turned to the last pages. In one she found Fishlegs waving, as if saying hello with a shy smile.

"_**He says that wherever you are that he hopes you are okay. I haven't told him much, but he is okay with it. He says that he trusts us but that he hopes that you return soon. I don't have the heart to tell him Astrid"**_

Neither did her, to break that smile. Fishlegs was an interesting guy, very big but so un-Viking like. Though sometimes all he spoke was facts about dragons, he usually did it because he wanted to share something he thought interesting with you, because he thought you were smart and worth the time. She swore that she would explain everything to him someday, hopefully soon.

The next drawing was of Toothless. Somehow Hiccup had made the smallish dragon look threatening though his claws were not long, he had no visible teeth, and he had eyes as large a cabbage.

"**It was almost impossible to get him to stay still while I drew him. He wanted to see it before it was finished and when he saw it he usually complained about it not being scary enough"**

She smiled before she moved to the last of the drawings. Her heart jumped and her eyes widened. This drawing was older than the others and the one in the page was her. When did he draw her? Was this how he saw her? Her cheeks reddened when she saw the detail in the drawing. She was standing with a smile, probably listening to Ruff and with her hair as it used to be before Camicazi cut it. She wondered what he would say if he saw it now.

"_**I drew this after the celebration of the defeat of the Red and Green Death"**_

But that was all he said of the drawing and she wondered what else passed through his mind as he decided to send it to her. Of the whole stack of papers there was only one left.

_**I know I don't have to hope that you are okay because you are Astrid Hofferson. I know you are the best they have ever seen in a very long time. Don't let your sister get the best of you, just keep doing what you are best that, and that is working hard and making it show. **_

_**HHH the III, your friend.**_

Astrid read the words again and smiled to herself before she put them again the leather bag. Her step was light as she walked back to the barracks to get ready for another tiring day of chasing her sister around. She put the pouch inside her mattress before rushing to the mead hall.

"There she is!" she stopped on her tracks as Dagur of the Berserker tribe marched towards her with his sword raised. She had her double headed axe out in less than a second ready to fight the much taller boy. She detested him for he was an even greater bully that Snotlout. She was actually thankful for the opportunity to lay some damage on him.

"Stop this child!" Bertha shouted from her place in the table as she slammed her fists on the table, "That is Astrid Hofferson! That is not my daughter Camicazi!"

"Hofferson? As of the Hofferson clan from Berk" and then he recognized her, and stopped a few steps away from her "turned into a traitor I see" he sneered at her.

"Don't you dare to insult one of my warriors Dagur and remove yourself from my island at once!" Betha shouted at top of her lungs.

"Not until your excuse of a heir returns what she stole from me!" he shouted back, "I know it was her! No one else is stupid enough to steal from me!"

"You have gone too far!" Bertha bolted right up before marching towards the teen, "Leave now before I return you to your father in little pieces!" and she drew her magnificent and long sword out and pointed at his chest.

"I won't forget this Bertha…" he said stepping back for he was insane but he did not have a death wish. Bertha was of the best with the sword.

"That's Chief Bertha to you" Astrid said with her head held high and stared directly into his cold grey eyes.

"Watch yourself _Shield Maidem,_" he spoke the last words as if they were an insult and that was a big mistake for in just a moment every Shield Maiden in the hall was standing with their hands on handles of their weapons.

Dagur sneered at the mead hall in general before he marched out.

"You need to keep a closer eye on Camicazi," Berths told her once the heir of the Berserkers was no longer in sight.

Astrid nodded simply before going to look for Camicazi.

888

Hiccup sat at top of his roof waiting for Toothless. The new moon had arrived and he couldn't wait to read what Astrid sent him. He hoped he hadn't over done it with the drawings or the poem. He felt his face turn warm and cursed under his breath. It had been a last moment impulse that made him send her that older drawing of her. He hoped she liked it and dreaded that she would think him weird.

"**Look at you, all desperate for the mere words of a girl" **Toothless sang mockingly as he returned from an insult match with Stormfly. He had a good feeling that he had won, though that last spike had been too close for comfort.

"**Keep it down" **Hiccup said as he moved inside his room, Toothless followed behind, **"where is it?"**

He watched horrified as Toothless started to gag. He jumped back before his dragon dropped the saliva covered leather bag to the floor.

"**Are you… never mind" **he said before graving it and then lit a candle by his work table. He cleared away the saliva from the leather bag, all the while thinking himself smart enough to make it in the first place. He pulled out the pages, many less than his own. He took a deep breath before he started to read.

_**Are you mad? You should have let him take Snotlout!**_

He read the first line and laughed because he could see her in his mind's eye shaking a fist at him.

_**Still, I guess it can't be helped. You are you after all. Though not very Viking like in appearance**_

_**You overtake any other in bravery and foolishness. I am happy that my sword lessons came in handy.**_

_**And curious to see you fight with both hands equally.**_

_**I even feel like challenging you to a duel. You must think yourself lucky.**_

_**You better not get too overconfident and become even better.**_

_**It sounds to me like you have changed a lot, and mostly it sounds for the best.**_

_**Still, don't let your pride overtake you.**_

_**Think of all those other things you were already good at before you found your gift.**_

_**Your drawings are all wonderful and your poem makes me laugh and smile every time I read it.**_

_**Remember always who you truly are.**_

Hiccup stopped. Who he really was? He was the useless and clumsy son of the chief, was he not? He was a wannabe Viking, the scrawniest of all. He remembered Grimbeard's seven mirrors and knew this to be not true. Then who was he? She spoke of his skill at writing and drawing and he felt his heart soar. No one had ever commented much on his drawings, but Fishlegs who pointed out some details that could make them better.

_**Thank you for the drawing of my father and telling me he is okay.**_

_**I feel so much better knowing you are there for him.**_

_**I wish I was as good as you when looking after my sister.**_

_**She has gotten on Dagur's really bad side, if there is any other.**_

_**She stole from him a magnificent blade, and he came to challenge her.**_

_**He didn't get to, but the damage was already done.**_

_**Just about every other night she will sneak out**_

_**And steal something from him again.**_

_**We haven't gotten caught yet, but I fear we might**_

_**And if it does happen, it will be the end of us.**_

_**Daggur hold no mercy for anyone.**_

Hiccup shivered remembering Dagur and his cruelty. As the sons of chiefs, they had been at many Things together where allied tribes talked to each other. Dagur was cruel to any that was at hand, and Hiccup, hadn't he been the son of a chief would already be dead by his hand. He used him for target practice for Thor's sake! He didn't doubt Astrid could hold her ground against him, but just the idea of him hurting her made all his senses awaken. It made very Viking like wishes which involved his blades and Dagur's neck stir.

He read the rest of her letter. She was very to the point. Speedifist did like Ruffnut, but he was not to tell anyone. She would also explain what was going on to Fishlegs. Also that she hoped for more drawings. The other Bog Burglars were starting to get friendly with her after she challenged Dagur in the hall. She finally learned that beyond training to the point of admiration, she had to talk to others. She got along with those her age, but she preferred much more to talk to the older warriors like Groa who was the fastest with the bow, Isgerd who tamed dragons better than anyone, or oven the old cook Hekja who at one point sailed to lands they had only heard of in tales as children.

At the end of the letter he felt much more at peace. Besides the usual Viking trouble, she was starting to fit in. At the bottom of her letter he read.

_**In the summer night**_

_**I heard the dragons' crow**_

_**I see them take flight**_

_**Under the night's glow**_

_**8**_

_**I see a boy run after their darkness**_

_**With the silent steps of a deer**_

_**There is no one with his lightness**_

_**I watch him disappear**_

_**8**_

_**In the summer night,**_

_**I can only wonder what it is that he heard**_

_**Is it an undying plight?**_

_**Or just meaningless words**_

And the boy felt something stir inside of him. He did not fully understand what it was for it made no sense to him. So he read the last words again and then saved the letter somewhere safe before he went to bed. But he could not keep his eyes closed. All he could do was think of that girl so far away who had stolen something from him without meaning to.

Without his knowing, he had done the same to her.

There were many more letters during the remaining of that summer and to the beginning of fall. They spoke to each other in such freedom that soon they forgot they were supposed to be of enemy tribes. They wrote about the good and bad times. They talked about what they wanted and what they feared. On his last letter Hiccup wrote.

_**Please come back.**_

But when the full moon came, he never got a response and he felt as if something was not just taken from him, but ripped out of his chest.


End file.
